The worldview of the class of 2005

The "Mindset List for First-Year Students in the Class of 2005" was written by professors at Beloit College in Wisconsin to help faculty and staff at the 155-year-old liberal arts college adjust to their new crop of students. Here are some excerpts:

* Most students starting college this fall were born in 1983.

* The New Kids on the Block are over the hill.

* They want to be PHAT but not fat.

* Thongs no longer come in pairs and slide between the toes.

* God has never been a "he" in most churches.

* Hard copy has nothing to do with a TV show; a browser is not someone relaxing in a bookstore; and a mouse is not a rodent.

* Recording TV programs on VCRs became legal the year they were born.

* There has always been Diet Coke.

* Artificial hearts have always been ticking.

* The Social Security system has always been on the brink.

* The Colts have always been in Indianapolis.

* There have always been warnings about second-hand smoke.

* They have never experienced a real recession.

* A hacker is not just a kid who won't stop fooling around.

* They were born the same year as the PC and the Mac.

* The US Senate has always had a daycare program.

* One earring on a man indicates that he is probably pretty conservative.

* CDs have always been labeled for explicit content.

* Lethal Weapon in one form or another has always been "at the movies."

* Sarajevo was a war zone, not an Olympic host.

* They don't remember Janet Jackson when she was cute and chubby.

* Drug testing of athletes has always been routine.

* There has always been a hole in the ozone layer.

* They have always used e-mail.

* The precise location of the Titanic has always been known.

* Jimmy Hoffa has always been officially dead.

* Cal Ripken has always been playing baseball.

* Volkswagen beetles have always had engines in the front.

* They have probably never used carbon paper and do not know what "cc" and "bcc" mean.

* Lasers have always been marketed as toys.

* Major newspapers have always been printed in color.

* Beta is a preview version of software, not a VCR format.

* They have never known exactly what to call the rock star formerly and presently known as Prince.

* They are the first generation to prefer tanning indoors.

* "Survivor" is a TV show, not a rock group.

* They have heard "just say no" since they were toddlers.

* Most of them know someone born with the help of a test tube.

* It has paid to "Discover" since they were four.

* Oprah has always been a national institution.