Around this time of year, it used to be common to see different curated lists that speak to what this incoming first-year class has experienced during their 18 years or so on this Earth. These lists would include little historical and social factoids like “these students have always lived with e-books” or “most of these students never had the joy of dial-up internet,” something to that effect. These lists helped prime us for our incoming students by painting a picture of the world as they have seen and lived it, and how it differs from the world we grew up in. It also had the (perhaps intended) side-effect of reminding us that we are indeed getting old. The Mindset List from Beloit College used to lead this cultural phenomenon, publishing lists every year with facts about the incoming college class before they published their final list in 2018 for the college class of 2022.
For us as Residence Life professionals, being aware of those contexts can do a lot. As we foster spaces for our students to feel welcomed and included, as we think about bulletin boards and themes for our programs, as we prepare to navigate roommate mediations, having the cultural context of their lived existence can give a solid foundation.
Because of that, I wanted to create a similarly styled list for this year’s incoming class. Instead of giving just a wide breadth of information about this class, this will be structured in chronological order. Each event / moment within the context of where they were in life. For example, it’s one thing to know that the students have always lived with iPhones, but a whole other layer is added when you consider that the iPhone rolled out right when they were born. We will start when most of these students were born, in the years 2006 – 2007.
2006 – 2007 (The Students are Born)
- The International Astronomical Union changes the definition of what a planet is, determining that Pluto is no longer a planet in the process. It fundamentally changes science curriculum for schools. (August 2006)
- The iPhone is unveiled, changing how we interact with cell phones. (January 2007)
2008 – 2011 (Pre-Kindergarten Years)
- Barack Obama became the first African American to win a United States Presidential Election. (November 2008)
- James Cameron’s Avatar is released and becomes the highest grossing film of all-time, taking the spot from Titanic. (December 2009)
- Instagram launches, taking only three months to get over one million users. (October 2010)
- Osama bin Laden is killed during a Navy Seal operation, ending an almost ten year search. (May 2011)
Fall 2012 – Summer 2013 (Kindergarten)
- President Barack Obama wins the nomination to serve a second term as President of the United States. (November 2012)
- Gangnam Style, a song from the South Korean singer Psy, becomes a cultural sensation as its music video becomes the most viewed YouTube video. (November 2012)
Fall 2013 – Summer 2014 (First Grade)
- Nelson Mandela, remembered for his influential activism and political career, passes away at 95 years old. (December 2013)
- Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 goes missing while on a flight to China. The plane was never found. (March 2014)
Fall 2014 – Summer 2015 (Second Grade)
- The One World Trade Center, built upon the same area as the original World Trade Center complex, opens after being in construction since 2006. (November 2014)
- The Supreme Court rules that same sex marriage is legal in all 50 states. (June 2015)
Fall 2015 – Summer 2016 (Third Grade)
- Star Wars returns to theaters with Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens. It reignites the Star Wars fandom, and becomes one of the highest grossing movies of all-time. (December 2015)
- Great Britain votes to leave the European Union, starting Brexit. It was a tight vote, with 51.89% of the population voting to leave and 48.11% of the population voting to stay. (June 2016)
Fall 2016 – Summer 2017 (Fourth Grade)
- Donald Trump wins the United States Presidential Election to become the 45th President. (November 2016)
Fall 2017 – Summer 2018 (Fifth Grade)
- Started by activist Tarana Burke in 2006, he phrase “me too,” and the #MeToo movement, becomes viral with the goal to support survivors of sexual harassment and assault. (October 2017)
- With the rise of digital media, a Blockbuster video store in Bend, Oregon becomes the last Blockbuster to remain open in the United States. It was truly the end of an era for video rental. (July 2018)
Fall 2018 – Spring 2019 (Sixth Grade)
- The Queen of Soul, who was widely considered to be one of the greatest singers of all time, Aretha Franklin passes away at the age of 76. (August 2018)
- In a true feat of science, the first ever image of a black hole was released to the public. (April 2019)
Fall 2019 – Summer 2020 (Seventh Grade)
- The World Health Organization declares COVID-19 a pandemic. (March 2020)
- Black Lives Matter protests occur all across the United States, in response to the murder of George Floyd. (May 2020)
Fall 2020 – Summer 2021 (Eighth Grade)
- Joe Biden wins the United States Presidential Election to become the 46th President. (November 2020)
Fall 2021 – Summer 2022 (Ninth Grade)
- The James Webb Space Telescope, a highly advanced telescope, is launched into space, becoming the largest ever telescope in space. (December 2021)
- The United States Supreme Court rules that abortions are not a Constitutional right. (June 2022)
Fall 2022 – Summer 2023 (Tenth Grade)
- The first version of ChatGPT launches, forever changing how we think of artificial intelligence. (November 2022)
- The Coronation of King Charles III and his wife Camilla is held in Great Britain. This is the first Coronation to take place since 1953. (May 2023)
Fall 2023 – Summer 2024 (Eleventh Grade)
- Taylor Swift is named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. She is the first nominee selected for success in the arts, and one of the few women granted the title so far. (December 2023)
- Joe Biden drops his re-election campaign, giving way to Kamala Harris to run for the United States Presidency. (July 2024)
Fall 2024 – Summer 2025
- Donald Trump wins the United States Presidential Election to become the 47th President, making him the second United States President to have two non-consecutive terms. (November 2024)
- Large, widespread fires hit Southern California, burning over 57,000 acres of land. (January 2025)
This is truly but a small sliver of the major events that have occurred over these last 18 years. However, I hope it demonstrates the sheer amount of changes and events that our students have seen in just the first years of their lives. I also hope that putting them in conjunction with the time period of student’s lives helps to understand the potential impact these events have had, too. For me, I’m thinking about how viral moments have always been in their lexicon. The outstanding advances in scientific knowledge (and the degradation of Pluto, RIP). COVID is declared a pandemic during their middle school years. ChatGPT hits during early high school. The first United States President they likely remember is Barack Obama. And how all of these moments were broadcast everywhere through our digitally connected landscape. All of these moments have impacted our students during their formative years, and they shaped their early views of the world. Let’s keep all of that in mind this year.
Also – do you feel old seeing all this? I know I do.
