The Mindset List for Natick High's Class of 2013

Since 1998, Beloit College has released the Beloit College Mindset List, which is a list of cultural references, moments and items that have shaped the lives of students who are about to enter college in the fall.

What began as a sort of a joke by a professor and public affairs staffer to remind faculty about dated references has become an international phenomenon that millions of people look forward to each year so they can see the many ways in which worldviews have changed in the new college generation.

The Beloit College Mindset List for the college class of 2017 won't be released until August 20, but with Natick High School seniors set to graduate soon, we thought it would be fun to take a look at the Beloit College Mindset List for the college class of 2016.

Here is a sampling:

1. Robert De Niro is thought of as Greg Focker's long-suffering father-in-law, not as Vito Corleone or Jimmy Conway.
2. They have never seen an airplane "ticket."
3. There has always been football in Jacksonville but never in Los Angeles.
4. While still fans of music on radio, they often listen to it on their laptop or replace it with music downloaded onto their MP3s or IPods.
5. Since they've been born, the United States has measured progress by a two percent jump in unemployment and a 16 cent rise in the cost of a first class postage stamp.
6. Their folks have never gazed with pride on a new set of bound encyclopedias on the bookshelf.
7. Exposed bra straps have always been a fashion statement, not a wardrobre malfunction to be corrected quietly well-meaning friends.
8. They have lived in an era of instant stardom and self-proclaimed celebrities, famous for being famous.
9. Outdated icons with images of floppy discs for “save,” a telephone for “phone,” and a snail mail envelope for “mail” have oddly decorated their tablets and smart phone screens.
10. Probably the most tribal generation in history, they despise being separated from contact with their similar-aged friends.
11. They were too young to enjoy the 1994 World Series, but then no one else got to enjoy it either.
12. Before they purchase an assigned textbook, they will investigate whether it is available for rent or purchase as an e-book.
13. Television and film dramas have always risked being pulled because the story line was too close to the headlines from which they were ”ripped.”
14. Lou Gehrig’s record for most consecutive baseball games played has never stood in their lifetimes.
15. Michael Jackson’s family, not the Kennedys, constitutes “American Royalty.”

These are just 15 of the 75 items on the list. Click here to read the rest, and good luck to Natick High's class of 2013!