The Millennial Invasion: are you ready?

In March of this year I posted a message describing some the ways today's freshmen look at the world and how different it is from the world of us "older" folks. Here is an updated list ... provided by Sherry Nelson Reichert, Community and High School Outreach, South Seattle Community College.

Regards, Rick Reis

This September, a whole new batch of freshmen will walk onto college campuses in all parts of the country. Did you know ...

* Most were born in 1980.

* There has only been one Pope. They can only really remember one president.

* They were 11 when the Soviet Union broke apart, and do not remember the Cold War.

* They have never feared a nuclear war. "The Day After" is a pill to them, not a movie.

* They are either too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up ... or it is their first collective television memory. Tiananmen Square means nothing to them.

* They do not know who Moammar Qadafi is.

* They never had a polio shot, and likely, do not know what it is.

* Bottle caps have not only always been screw off, but have always been plastic.

* They have no idea what a pull top can looks like.

* They have never owned a record player.

* They have likely never played Pac Man, and have never heard of Pong.

* Star Wars looks fake and the special effects are pathetic.

* There have always been red M & M's, and blue ones are not new. What do you mean there used to be beige ones?

* They have always had an answering machine.

* They have always had cable.

* The Tonight Show has always been with Jay Leno.

* They have no idea when or why Jordache jeans were cool.

* Popcorn has always been cooked in a microwave.

* They have never seen and remember a game that included the St. Louis football Cardinals, the Baltimore Colts, the Minnesota North Stars, the Kansas City Kings, the New Orleans Jazz, the Minnesota Lakers, the Atlanta Flames or the Denver Rockies (NHL hockey, that is).

* They do not consider the Colorado Rockies, the Florida Marlins, the Florida Panthers, the Ottawa Senators, the San Jose Sharks, or the Tampa Bay Lightning expansion teams.

* They have never seen Larry Bird play, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a football player.

* They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.

* The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as WWI, WWII or even the Civil War.

* They have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran.

* They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are.

* They don't know who Mork was or where he was from.

* They never heard the terms "Where's the beef?" or "de plane, de plane!."