The Class of ‘13

As I stumbled around this week looking for inspiration on what to write, I came across something very interesting. Every year, Beloit College in Wisconsin makes what it calls a “mindset list.” It includes some thought-provoking facts about the incoming freshman classes around the country.

This year’s class of 2013 is particularly fascinating because, unlike every class before them, they were not born into a world divided between communism and capitalism. Most of them were born in 1991 when the Berlin wall had fallen and most of the Soviet Bloc was converting to democracy. And while new threats are always looming, the list provides some insights into things this generation will never see or in some cases will never know the absence of.

People play a large role in the list. For those of you in the class of 2013, Dr Seuss has always been dead. Mike Tyson has never been just a boxer. He also became a felon and went to prison. Magic Johnson has always been HIV positive. You can thank him that you don’t know the full force of the social stigma HIV used to carry. Margaret Thatcher has always been a former prime minister. Christopher Columbus has always been portrayed as more of a mass murderer than an explorer. Madonna has always been extremely vocal about sex. And Ozzy Osbourne has always been making a comeback.

Politics, too, play a large role in the history of the class of 2013. The KGB has never existed in your lifetime, though some of its former members still play a large role in modern Russia. McDonald’s has always sold Happy Meals in China, despite the fact that Chairman Mao rolls over in his grave every time one is sold. The European Union has always been a viable entity rather than just a plan on a drawing board. Nine new countries including Belarus, Ukraine, Latvia and Armenia have been in existence since you were born. Someone has always been asking about the merits of invading Iraq. Both Koreas have always been a part of the United Nations. And perhaps most interesting, in a post-Cold War era, the North Atlantic Trade Organization has always struggled to find its place in international politics.

Of course, the list also includes some lighter things. None of this year’s freshman class will know how horrible the world was without blue Jell-O. Planet Hollywood has always lured vacationers to Vegas. Flat-screen TVs have always been around to bring us the Super Bowl. Cartoon Network has always competed with other stations to rot the minds of our youth on Saturday mornings. Best of all, chocolate chip cookie dough has always been an available flavor of ice cream.

All in all, it’s a different world for our freshmen than it was for our seniors, juniors and even our sophomores. Beloit’s list has shown us that in ways both large and small our world is constantly changing both for good and bad. The real reason the list captured my imagination was that it gave me a glimpse into what past generations have done and what this upcoming generation can do.
Take the time to ponder the challenges of today’s world. Maybe one day, someone from Tulane’s class of 2013 will make the list or, even better, be the cause of one of the improvements on it. True, some things on this list seem obscure and irrelevant. But the possibility for positive impact in our world is very much out there. It’s certainly something to think about. Here’s to you, class of 2013.

Law Loving is a sophomore in Newcomb-Tulane College. He can be reached for comment at lloving@tulane.edu.