Did not start college in either of these years but I did go in the '70's. As we enter the fifth decade since 1970, just wanted to give a little insight on how quickly things change and the remarkable advances we've made in forty years.
In 1970 the rising college co-ed started her classes neatly dressed in a skirt, blouse, hose and loafers. Sure people were wearing jeans and T-shirts then but college dress codes were still implemented. She took notebooks, pens and pencils. Her most sophisticated educational aid was a slide rule. If she was lucky, she had an Instamatic camera but more than likely had one with film that took weeks to process. She possibly had a fridge in her dorm room and maybe, a B&W TV. Her music came from a record player. Turntables were not the norm then.
Since she began her second semester of HS earlier in the year she had seen the debut of "All My Children", the massacre of the McDonald family at Ft. Bragg, NC and the "Beatles" disband. She knew that Apollo 13's oxygen tank exploded, that the US invaded Cambodia and of the horror at Kent State. The president was Richard Nixon and in the summer of 1970 he signed a measure lowering the voting age to eighteen.
"Patton" won the Academy Award in 1970. The top songs were "Bridge Over Troubled Water", James Taylor's "Fire & Rain", "Let It Be" and Black Sabbath's "Paranoid". Top TV shows were "Marcus Welby MD", "Mod Squad" and "Mannix". Our girl of 1970 may have secretly watched the "Brady Bunch". She was excited about the car of the year, the AMC Gremlin. She did not know about "Saturday Night Live". This co-ed is almost 60 years old.
In 1980 the rising college freshman more than likely completely dressed in jeans, but still wore a dress and panty hose on special days. She was armed with a calculator now and had a cassette player or a Sony Walkman. Her camera was more sophisticated but her film still took days to be processed. Her dorm room, if she was lucky, had a color TV that weighed a ton and a microwave.
During her Senior year of HS American Hostages were still held in Iran. Jimmy Carter, the president of her year signed legislation approving a 1.5 million dollar bailout for Chrysler. Israel and Egypt established diplomatic relations and the US boycotted the Moscow Olympics. Ronald Reagan was nominated as a candidate for President.
Pac Man and CNN were launched. The best motion picture of her year was "Kramer Vs Kramer". Her TV shows were "Lou Grant", "Taxi", "Mash" and "Soap". The Broadway musical "Grease" closed making it the longest running musical of all time. Nissan was still Datsun. Eddie Murphy had not yet been on "Saturday Night Live" . This co-ed is almost fifty years old.
In 1990 our girl had "big hair" as perms were all that. When she dressed up there were more than likely shoulder pads involved. Her main outfits consisted of jeans and when she went to football games she dressed for comfort. She could have possibly had a car or bag phone and more than likely came from a home where there was a computer and was somewhat familiar with them. Her camera still had film.
She saw the first African American governor elected in Virginia. Iraq invaded Kuwait and the Gulf War began. The first McDonald's opened in Moscow and the President was George Bush but for most of her life her President was Ronald Reagan.
"Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler was the song of the year. Country music was becoming more mainstream. "Driving Miss Daisy" won the Academy Award this year and her favorite movie was "Pretty Woman". TV consisted of "Cosby", "Cheers", "LA Law" and the "Wonder Years". She knew of Mike Myers and "Wayne's World on SNL. This girl is almost forty.
In 2000, the co-ed survived the new millennium. The way she dressed had no set pattern, but you can bet some of her clothes came from the Gap or Abercrombie & Fitch. She went to school with a desk top computer, color TV, microwave and a cell phone. "You Got Mail" had nothing to do with paper in a mailbox. She may have had a digital camera.
The World Trade Center still stood in New York. She knew exactly what Bill and Monica were doing in the Oval Office. Bill Clinton had been President for most of her life. She knew the next time it would be Bush or Gore. She listened to the saga of Elian Gonzalez and saw the last publication of "Peanuts".
"American Beauty" was the best picture of the year. She probably enjoyed "What Women Want" and "Meet the Parents". Carlos Santana, Rob Thomas dominated the Grammys with "Smooth". Christina Aquilera was voted "Best New Artist" and her fellow Mouseketeer Britney sang "Oops...I Did It Again". She had a portable CD player and not yet heard of an IPOD.
The girl of 2000's TV consisted of "Friends", "ER" and "Sex and the City". "Saturday Night Live" was twenty five years old. She is almost 30.
Today's rising college freshman 2010 has perfect teeth, a style of her own and she loves to show her toned belly. She thinks that panty hose are something her mother wore. As she goes to school she will have a lap top and a microwave. She will more than likely have a device called an I-Something that provides her with a phone, camera, music and access to everything on the Internet which is smaller than her hand.
Her TV can also be carried in one hand, the larger ones will take two. Her favorite TV shows are the reality ones as her choices go far beyond network. Her music is eccletic and spans many tastes. She is the first of all of the above to know Michael as "The Late" Michael Jackson.
"The Blind Side" is a favorite movie and she loves Sandra Bullock for that and the fact she survived a cheating husband. She has seen a lot of great men cheat on their wives this year. She has seen the fall of Tiger.
She has also seen the fall of the World Trade Center, horrific natural disasters and her President is the first of African American descent. She has written few checks if any and her only handwritten correspondence is a Thank You note which is probably printed. She is almost 20 years old.
Can't even image what our girl of 2020 will have. Just hope the advances are as great as they have been.
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