While the class of 2024 might be questioning
what the future holds, one thing is certain:
this group of students is living through an
unprecedented start to their college careers and
their first 18 years have been bookended by key
world events.
It’s especially fitting then that the Marist
Mindset List for the class of 2024 is also
radically different than the previous iterations
of the iconic annual “always/never” list. Moving
from Beloit College to Marist, the list went
through a transitional phase last year with the
founding team from Beloit leading the effort on
development with the support of Marist staff and
faculty. This year, under the direction of
Marist Associate Professor of English and Beloit
alumnus Tommy Zurhellen, the list was a
collaborative effort with Marist faculty from
different disciplines with diverse backgrounds
focusing on 10 major areas: arts, commerce,
education, ethics, fashion, history and
politics, language and literacy, science, sports
communication, and technology.
“It was important to me to take the Mindset List
in a more substantive direction,” said Zurhellen.
“But the COVID pandemic just affirmed that even
more. This group of students in particular is
living through extraordinary circumstances that
deserve examination. And, as last year’s list
showed, Generation Z is poised to be a political
and cultural force.”
A self-described long-time fan of the Mindset
List, Zurhellen conceived of it as a “cultural
compass which examines broad areas that can be
explored and discussed in meaningful ways.”
Zurhellen’s collaborators were Assistant
Professor of Art and Digital Media Joyce Yu-Jean
Lee and Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Pablo Rivas. The team was assisted by Assistant
Professor of Criminal Justice Vanessa Lynn, who
will be part of the development team next year.
This year’s list examines race relations,
fashion in the era of personal protective
equipment (PPE), the push and pull between
privacy and technology, and much more. It has
been pared down to 10 items which each include
additional reading in the form of links to
sources and, in some cases, living examples of
items. All supporting materials are available at
Marist Mindset List website marist.edu/mindset-list.
The Marist Mindset List For the Class of
2024
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Emerging artists and designers in the
class of 2024 will explore race relations
beyond Black Lives Matter into a deeper
understanding of how Whiteness has shaped
bias and influence in contemporary American
culture.
-
Incoming students will rely on smart
devices for shopping, interactive
wellness-centered consumer experiences, and
engaging in the social good.
-
The class of 2024 may view the idea of
“banned books” as an artifact from the past,
but the Harry Potter series has been banned
somewhere in America for their entire
lifetimes, and To Kill a Mockingbird has
appeared on the American Library Association
(ALA) list of frequently challenged books
eight times since 2004, due to perceived
concerns over offensive language as well as
racial and sexual themes.
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Incoming students are willing to pay for
their privacy. Privacy is now a commodity,
and they value privacy for their real
relationships.
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The necessity of personal protection
equipment (PPE) will drive fashion trends
for the next couple of seasons as young
designers in the class of 2024 adapt face
masks and other PPE into functional objects
of personal expression.
-
For incoming students, the world
political stage has always been post-9/11;
Vladimir Putin has always been the leader of
Russia, Tayyip Erdogan has always been
leader of Turkey, and the United States
military has always been involved in
Afghanistan.
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The class of 2024 (and, often, their
teachers) expect and embrace a richer
diversity of voices in the books they read,
and their enthusiasm for young adult (YA)
literature has led to the emergence of
vibrant new voices such as Angie Thomas (The
Hate U Give), Marie Lu (Legend), and Tomi
Adeyemi (Children of Blood and Bone). In
addition, these students are shaping
American literary culture like never before,
by contributing commentary and adaptations
in online forums such as GoodReads, Reddit,
Twitter, and fanfic sites.
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Incoming students are keenly aware of the
major threats to the health of our society
created by both an international pandemic
and the global climate crisis, while at the
same time, the value of science in our
national dialogue is increasingly
questioned.
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Social distancing provided a captive
audience for the ESPN documentary “The Last
Dance.” This phenomenon allowed the Class of
2024 to see for themselves the evolution of
the NBA game in the last twenty years,
sparking new debate over how past heroes
such as Michael Jordan compare to their
favorite players of today like LeBron and
Giannis as G.O.A.T.
-
Incoming students have never been more
ready to embrace social distance by using
technology to fill the distance gap. They
are always looking for the newest upgrade.
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Mindset List is a registered trademark
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developed by
Charles Camp for
CIVL
1101.
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Maintained by the
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