Each year, Beloit College in Wisconsin produces a fascinating cultural snapshot of incoming freshmen to help the faculty understand their mind-set. Since it’s high school graduation time, we thought it would be interesting to borrow the idea in an attempt to view the world through the prism of Inland Northwest high school seniors, most of whom were born around 1988. Some tidbits to consider:

Since they’ve been old enough to bounce a ball and ride a bike, there has been a Hoopfest and a Centennial Trail.

Chris Gregoire has always been a state government executive (ecology, attorney general, governor). Larry Craig and Norm Dicks have always been in Congress. John Paul Stevens, Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy have always been on the U.S. Supreme Court.

One Democrat has been president. One Democrat has been governor of Idaho. No Republicans have been governor of Washington.

Neo-Nazis have always been in the news.

There has always been a battle between Washington state and the feds over the cleanup of Hanford. There’s always been a Superfund site in the Silver Valley.

Christa McAuliffe, Andy Warhol, Roy Orbison and Rock Hudson have always been dead. Kurt Cobain died when the high school Class of 2006 was in kindergarten.

South Hill rapist Kevin Coe has always been in jail. The siege at Ruby Ridge occurred when they were 4 or 5 years old. Fairchild Air Force Base has been a refueling wing since they were in kindergarten. The ice storm hit when they were in third grade.

The NFL Cardinals have always been in Arizona. Barry Bonds has always been in the major leagues. The Boston Celtics have never been the NBA champions.

There’s always been a Coeur d’Alene Resort. The factory outlets in Post Falls have almost always been open. The Crescent has always been closed.

There’s always been a Chase Youth Commission.

As they headed off to elementary school, grunge faded and gangsta rap flourished. CDs have always outsold vinyl. U2’s “Joshua Tree,” The Beastie Boys’ “Licensed to Ill,” Public Enemy’s “Yo! Bum Rush The Show” and Guns ‘N’ Roses’ “Appetite For Destruction” could always be purchased used.

There’s always been a Starbucks chain, Nintendo and “the information superhighway.”

“Thirtysomething” has always been in the vernacular. So have “borked,” “word up” and “d’oh!”

There have always been musicals of “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Les Miserables.” Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh have always been on the air. “The A-Team” has always been in reruns.

There’s always been Prozac and the AIDS drug AZT. There have always been a debate over global warming and a hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica.

Iraq has always been known to use chemical weapons. Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker have always been disgraced televangelists. When they were born, Tiananmen Square was coming up; the Berlin Wall was about to go down.

Since they were toddlers, The Spokesman-Review has been the only daily newspaper in Spokane. John Blanchette and Doug Clark have always been columnists. Charles Rowe, Randy Shaw and Dennis Patchin have always been on the air.

So, what does it all mean? It means that when we’re t-t-talkin’ ‘bout this generation, we might not connect when referencing a song their grandparents are downloading.