Special to The Lariat Fall 2010 2 REDEFINING GEN Y The Baylor Lariat Editor: Delve into the Break it down problems facing Gen Y Who are America’s generations? Label after label has been slapped across is learn from our mistakes. Generation Y the egos, work ethic and talent of the people And as we have gotten older, I can defi- in my generation. nitely see our progress. Other names: The Millennials From fickle to needy, we were considered The Millennials have capitalized on our Years: Born from 1982-1995 to be Generation Me; a group of people dis- tech-savvy ways to promote peace, spread eased with narcissism and lacking any moral good will and create a sense of global com- Naming: Named as the successors of Gen X and for the first group to come of age fiber. munity. during the new millennium. At 20 years old, I get it. We aren’t the per- We have used our blessed lives to realize fect kids our baby boomer parents worked so the great need others in this world have. My Generation X generation has veterans that I admire, busi- ness innovators I support and philanthropists Other names: The Baby Bust I strive to imitate. And I believe that because our parents gave us so much, we will be a gen- Years: Born from 1965-1981 eration that gives back even more — if we are Naming: Named for its unknown identity thanks to its diverse population given the opportunity to. Don Miller, author of the New York Times Bestseller “Blue Like Jazz”, posted a blog in The Baby Boomers August titled, “If 40 is the New 30 Then is 20 the New Junior High?” Other names: None In the entry, Miller gave Millennials seven Years: Born from 1946-1964 tips to get out of the “20-and-doing-nothing rut.” His tips: 1. Lose your friends (the non- Naming: Named for the boom in children born promptly after the end of Nick Dean | Editor in chief ambitious one) 2. Read books 3. Write down World War II. your goals for the next five years, one year, one month and one week 4. Ask your parents hard to create. It’s common knowledge that for criticism 5. Accept hardship 6. Cut the The Silent Generation our generation is full of kids that were spoiled cynicism and 7. Accomplish something. because their parents wanted to give their If you’re a Millennial and caught in this Other names: None kids everything they never had. (A statement rut, follow his tips and I don’t think you’ll be Years: Born from 1928-1945 echoed in my own life, definitely.) there long. Naming: Labeled as silent because of their conformist tendencies as a generation, Our parents gave us so much, and silly us, This special issue of The Lariat is an at- we enjoyed it. It almost seems like the older tempt to altruistically redefine Generation Y. especially in comparison to the anti-establishment Baby Boomers. generations were looking down on us for nev- While working on this special issue, I have er saying “Thank You” enough—and at the seen my staff (full of Millennials) demon- The Greatest Generation age of 8, 9 or 10, — sure, I probably indulged strate the highest regard for work ethic. in the blessings my mother bestowed upon They created this issue with more deter- Other names: None me without stopping for a second to realize mination and hard work than I have seen the hard work and love that was at the center from another group of Millennials. Years: Born before 1928 of her gifts. And it is all thanks to the members of Naming: The generation that fought and won World War II. Dubbed “greatest” I wish I could go back and say “Thank older generations that have raised, taught and by former President Ronald Reagan. You” a million times — but all I can do is mentored us — thank you. learn from it. All we, as Generation Y, can do Source: Pew Research Center the Baylor Lariat |STAFF LIST Editor in chief A&E editor Copy editor Staff writer Photographer Ad Salesperson Nick Dean* Jenna DeWitt* Amy Heard Meghan Hendrickson Matt Hellman Tyler McManus City editor Sports editor Copy editor Sports writer Editorial Cartoonist Delivery Caty Hirst* Chris Derrett* Wakeelah Crutison Matt Larsen Esteban Diaz John Harvey News editor Photo editor Staff writer Sports writer Ad Salesperson Delivery James Byers Daniel Cernero Sara Tirrito Rachel Roach Trent Cryer Sarah Kroll Assistant city editor Web editor Staff writer Photographer Ad Salesperson Olga Ball* Jonathan Angel Jade Mardirosian Nick Berryman Courtney Whitehead Copy desk chief Multimedia producer Staff writer Photographer Ad Salesperson Amanda Earp Kavitha Muthukrishnan Carmen Galvan Makenzie Mason Victoria Carroll The Baylor Lariat REDEFINING GEN Y 3 Something old, Something new PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY DANIEL CERNERO | PHOTO EDITOR Marriage vs. Cohabitation Members of Generation Y break tradition by abandoning matrimony for living together By Jade Mardirosian people choosing to cohabitate has increased. things that are antithetical to the group. It is, you went to college and then you were mar- STAFF WRITER The divorce rate in America is still at 50 per- therefore, easier for people to get divorced ried. Now for the new generation, people go cent, Horner said. and also easier for people to cohabitate in an to college, get their master’s and then either Views on marriage have changed dramati- Research cites the divorce rate peaked in attempt to test drive the relationship to make get married or try their career first.” cally for Generation Y. A traditional court- the 1980s but has since plateaued. Even still, sure it works before the marriage.” Though rates for couples choosing to test ship, then marriage followed by many chil- many of those in Generation Y grew up with Even those who decide to get married are the waters of their relationship and live to- dren is no longer the only socially acceptable divorced parents and are therefore wary of doing so at an older age. On average, men are gether are steadily increasing, studies have outcome for one’s life. one day facing the same fate. 28 when they are married for the first time shown that married couples have many ad- Cohabitation, either prior to marriage or “If your parents were divorced, it is with and women are 26. Many factors have played vantages their cohabitating peers do not. permanently in place of marriage, has seen benign intention that somebody would want into people delaying their first marriages. Horner cites “The Case for Marriage,” a an increase in American society in recent de- to cohabitate before marriage,” Horner said. “Because of all the more recent reproduc- book written from extensive research studies, cades. Other research reveals cohabiting couples tive technology, we have been able to length- which summarizes the advantages those who “We noticed in the 1980s and 1990s that are at a greater risk for divorce if they end up en the child-bearing years,” Dr. Joyce Nuner, marry gain. the cohabitation rate had increased,” Dr. Ty- getting married. coordinator of the child and family studies “The book compares statistics on thou- ler Horner, lecturer in family and consumer “There are no advantages for cohabitat- program at Baylor, said. sands and thousands of married couples, sciences, said. “About two-thirds of all cou- ing; it is a false relationship from the outset,” Couples no longer feel a rush that they couples cohabitating prior to marriage, and ples will cohabitate before marriage.” Crouse said. “And 80 percent of the couples will not be able to have children later in life those cohabitating permanently, and a lot of Dr. Janice Crouse, senior fellow at the who live together before [they are] married when they are likely to be more financially what was found was surprising,” Horner said. Beverly LaHaye Institute and a part of the or- will get divorced.” settled, Horner said. The book found that people who were ganization Concerned Women for America, Individualism in American society has Education has played a role in changing married live longer, are happier in terms reiterates the rate of those choosing to co- also led to a shift in socially acceptable rela- the time period in which people are choosing of satisfaction with life and happiness, are habitate during their relationship. tionship practices. to marry. wealthier, have better sex lives as well as “The number of couples living together “Americans tend to be more individual- “A high school education used to be suffi- physical and mental health, compared with has increased 1,000 percent, and young istic than collectivistic, and we tend to ask: cient; now a college education is almost seen those that are cohabitating. people now feel that marriage is irrelevant,” what is in it for me?” Horner said. “Because as the necessity,” Nuner said. “In my parents’ The book also found that children who Crouse said. we are more individualistic, we care less generation, people would get married at 18, grew up with married parents tended to be There are a variety of reasons the rate of about what the consequences are for doing right out of high school. For my generation, happier and more adjusted psychologically. 4 REDEFINING GEN Y The Baylor Lariat A generation of Your generation believers thinks much more globally about kingdom causes than previous generations. - Jane Wilson Youth ministry specialist, BGCT Nick BerrymanNick Photographer | Lariat By Meghan Hendrickson services are now pointing back to the heart “This is a dramatic change from previous gen- “We are at the end of a 40-year movement Staff Writer of G o d .” erations.