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Members of the Class of 2012 share a laugh at Wednesday's Induction Ceremony. (Danny Abriel Photo)

Berlin has always been one city. The Hubble Telescope has always been circling the globe. And Nelson Mandela has always been a free man.

At least, so it may seem to members of the Class of 2012. Their arrival, lo these 18 years ago, dove-tailed with Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves and M.C. Hammer's You Can't Touch This.

Each year, Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin publishes their 鈥淢indset List,鈥� a look at the cultural touchstones of the new generation of students arriving at university or college for the first time. The goal is to provide a reminder of the rapidly changing frame of reference for today鈥檚 students.

Of the Class of 2012, its authors write: 鈥淢ost of them will be about 18 years old, born in 1990 when headlines sounded oddly familiar to those of today: Rising fuel costs were causing airlines to cut staff and flight schedules; Big Three car companies were facing declining sales and profits; and a president named Bush was increasing the number of troops in the Middle East... However, the mindset of this new generation of college students is quite different from that of the faculty about to prepare them to become the leaders of tomorrow.鈥�

Here鈥檚 just a few of the cultural references that they cite, along with a few of our own, that help define this year鈥檚 new students:

• For these students, Sammy Davis Jr., Jim Henson, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Freddy Krueger have always been dead (although Freddy has seen more than his fair share of comebacks).
• There has always been a GST.
• Lucien Bouchard has always been a member of the Bloc Quebecois party.
• Petro-Canada has never been a crown corporation.
• Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.
• Shampoo and conditioner have always been available in the same bottle.
• Gas stations have never fixed flat tires, but most serve cappuccino.
• Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option.
• Wayne Newton has never had a moustache.
• IBM has never made typewriters.
• Lenin鈥檚 name has never been on a major city in Russia.
• They have never known life without Seinfeld references from a show about 鈥渘othing.鈥�
• Caller ID has always been available on phones.
• The Tonight Show has always been hosted by Jay Leo

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