Brad Hokanson
University of Minnesota
Department of Design, Housing, and Apparel
Ana Donaldson
University of Northern Iowa
Department of Instructional Technology contact: bhokanson@che.umn.edu





Generationally framed
How they are not like “us”, the faculty, administrators
Observations disconnected from students
2004 Examples: “Gas has always been unleaded.They never heard Howard Cosell call a game on ABC. Garrison Keillor has always been live on public radio and Lawrence Welk has always been dead on public television.”

 Seminar format with
 18 students; 17 female (Fall 2004)
 All 18 year olds
 Graphic design, interior design, clothing design, housing, food science, retail merchandising.
 Questions asked to elicit written responses on a series of cultural questions.

Please describe your favorite “outfit”; the clothes in which you feel most comfortable.
 Jeans and a t-shirt; hoodie, birkenstocks
 Comfort, with meaning, memory

 Difference between formal/informal
“If I really want to feel comfortable, I wear sweats or shorts and a hoodie (hooded sweatshirt) I usually look like I’m headed to the gym...which in fact I usually am. That might be why those clothes are comfortable, 7 years of cheer practice and a second home at the gym.”

What are the primary means you use to communicate with your friends and family?

 Cellphone, with free long distance [all]
“I always feel comforted when I hear from [my parents].”

 All use IM/MSMessenger;
“I have found that using IM to talk to people is a lot easier than conversing with someone, new or not very familiar in real life.”
 e-mail; “…it takes more time to write an email than to call the person or talk to them instantly on IM.” email is “more formal”

What musical artists do you regularly listen to? List up to five artists or groups.




• The Beatles [4]
• Ten others with 2: Alanis Morrisette, Weezer, Switchfoot,
POD, Nirvana, LaRue, Blink 182, Bob Marley, John Mayer,
Jack Johnson, Dave Matthews Band
• 57 other mentions, including Phish, Linkin Park, Green Day, and the Monkees.
“I'm huge into music, so this is the toughest question ever for me, and I'd be likely to give you a different answer every day of the week…mostly just indie rock, with some punk influences. Most of the new artists I find come from word of mouth, local concerts, and smalltime indie rock magazines like Pitchforkmedia.com”

What is the one thing should our national government should fix or change?
 Education++, national policy ++, foreign policy ++, health care ++, education +++, abortion +++, social security, immigration, civil rights +++.
 Newspaper, TV, friends, parents, internet.

“I stopped watching the TV news last year about the time George
Bush decided to attack Iraq. I thought it was really biased and designed to scare people into supporting war.”

Please describe your eating habits.
 Varied schedules and concentrations
 Pasta/Italian +++++ Fruit +++++ Adkins
++/-, anti-carb ++


Most have an awareness of healthy eating; often “not necessarily healthy.”
“I hate ketchup”

How do you relax? (If for example, if school was unexpectedly canceled, how would you spend that day?)
 Sleep, hang out, music, sew;

“If school were cancelled, I would sleep for a very long time. Then I would probably use the computer, hang out with friends, watch
Simpson’s episodes, go running, play basketball, lift weights, read, write, and eat. Not all of these are particularly comforting activities, but they are what I do with my leisure time. You also get a very good feeling after you've been running or lifting and then you relax and go watch the
Simpson’s with a nice bowl of cereal. I don't draw very often, but sometimes I create artwork in Photoshop for fun.”

What is your first memory of money?
How will money affect your experience at the University?


Change jars, pennies, silver dollars
“My main source of income for a long time was the old, red rocker/recliner, my dad’s favorite chair. I eventually felt guilty pilfering so much loose change, so I turned to more conventional means: a lemonade stand.”
 Social activities consciously curtailed
 Some work, most recognize the need to work after getting acclimatized.

How are you going to get around in the area while at the University?
 Campus connector, bus, friends
 Lack of experience with city bus


Economics
“While I'm here at the U I will have a few choices of transportation. I can walk, ride my bike, rollerblade, ride the University bus or the Metro transit, or hitch a ride with the few people I know who have a car. I will probably use the University bus mostly to get to places on campus. If I need to get to the mall or something I will ride the Metro Transit. I'll take my bike out for fun. “

If you’ve been outside of this country, where have you been? Where would you like to go?





2004 Been: never(2), UK(3), Mexico(3), Canada(4),
France(2), Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Australia,
Greece, Italy
2003 Been: never(3); Canada(7); England, France(3),
Mexico(3), Switzerland(2)
2004 Desired: Europe(12), Japan(2), Australia(3),
Mexico, New Zealand, Costa Rica,
2003 Desired: Europe(10), Australia(4), Brazil,
China(5).
Language questions, air distance, no terrorism mention.

How do you use the computer? How do you anticipate the computer will change your university experience?
 Integrated; college inconceivable w/o computer.



E-mail, MSN/IM, papers, research, writing, multimedia, online journaling, music.
“I was shocked at how important internet and computer access is to all of [my] classes.”
“ It never goes off, except when I’m asleep.”

How do you think your high school gave you a unique advantage in coming to the University?
 Confidence; skills.
 Taking tougher classes; AP, PSO available and taken across the board. “Rigorous courses during high school were what helped me prepare for college.”
 Awareness of high school conditions; quality and quantity. Most believe their size high school was best, whatever the size.

What other activities were you involved in before coming to college?


Vast range of diverse activities including: synchronized swimming, dance, NHS, yearbooks, papers, band, gay rights, soccer, church.
They are overscheduled: “Although it was exhausting, it was one of the best activities that I have ever been involved in.” “Basically, I was pooped all through high school.” “…I had to quit because I was too busy with everything else in high school.””[I] would think college would be a break.”

Brad Hokanson
University of Minnesota
Department of Design, Housing, and Apparel
Ana Donaldson
University of Northern Iowa
Department of Instructional Technology contact: bhokanson@che.umn.edu