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Songs of Innocence: Cultural Memories that First-years Just Can't Remember

No matter how young you are, there's always someone else who will make you feel old--even if you're just 21 and a Harvard senior.

Adults got a jolt when Beloit College in Wisconsin released a "Class of 2003 Mindset List" last month, which named 43 news events and bits of popular culture that today's college first-years do not remember.

The Beloit list notes that first-years never saw Walter Cronkite say, "That's the way it is," have always known a woman on the Supreme Court, and have no idea what a "churchkey" is. (It's a type of can opener.)

"Today's 18-year-olds have had a narrow experience with popular culture," Beloit English professor Tom McBride told USA Today. "They can't be counted on to understand certain references that are second nature to us."

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But baby boomers aren't the only ones who may start to feel that shock. Some members of Harvard's Class of 2003 were born as late as 1982, a full half-decade after the oldest seniors--who were born in 1977.

To seniors' chagrin, some events and images that shaped their childhoods are just history to first-years.

"I was just saying to a friend, 'Oh my God, you were born in 1981," says Roxanne D. Lanzot '99-'00. "You just don't get it."

Material Boys and Girls

The early '80s were a veritable cornucopia of classic kids' movies. In 1984 alone, studios released "Footloose," "Romancing the Stone," "Gremlins," "Ghostbusters" and "Sixteen Candles"--movies that most first-years don't remember in their full-screen glory.

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