University of Georgia - Pandora Yearbook (Athens, GA)

emmio Generation X stands alone. \ itl ( the future in its own hands sen mn ^^^w ^k. Dead at 30. buried at 70. " reads the title of a chapter in Douglas Coupland ' s Generation X, the novel from which today s generation of students " ' label " was coined. Generation X, or " Xers " for short, represent 80 million people aged 1 1 to 3 1 who are, have been and will be on college campuses today and well into the next decade. The idea behind the classi- fication is that today ' s youth havenodirectionintheirlives. According to Mary Crystal Cage in The Chronicle of lltuher Education, popular books on the Xers portray that, " the post-baby-boomers are stuck in low-paying ' McJobs ' , waiting for the Cold War pre- dictions of a nuclear attack to come true, and ambivalent about what to do until the blast. " But are today ' s students really wandering aimlessly about, on a crash-collision course to become zombies by age 30, and living out the next 40 years with no direction or meaning ' . ' The answer is most definitly not. However, it does seemthat Xers have a larger wall to climb than their past counterparts. We are most likely the tirst generation that is fairly certain we will not 10/GENERATIONX " We must strive to be successful and take advantage of opportunities, however limited they may seem. " Jason Hatfield Junior Pre-Journalism do better than our parents. The almo st non- existent job market and a XWc increase of stu- dents coming from broken homes are both testa- ments to this. So, where does Generation X turn for support, vision, and direction ' ^ The first to reach out and target this generation was Details magazine, named magazine of the year in 1992 by Advertising Age. According to Scott Donaton of Advertising Age. " Details has established itself as a lead- ing media vehicle to reach Gen- eration X. " Upon Defa(7s ' pre- miere in 1990. it was widely criticized for being too raw, too bold, too " in-your- facc " ...the exact description that Xers seem to be most fond of. Also horn out of the gen- eration was ' grunge, " a inusi- cal/fashion statement originat- ing in the Xer capital of Seattle, and quickly spreading throughout the United States and Eu- rope. The music of Pearl Jam and Nir%ana, among others, was latched onto by the genera- tion thanks to the aggressive lyrics of Eddie Vedder and Kurt Cobain. For the first time in quite awhile the youth of the nation had a voice to turn to. The fashion aspect of grange seemed 1 to begin out of the rebellious nature of some the Xers. One of the characters in Couplan book. Dag. hits rock bottom of rebellion. A angry young w hite male casually sits on the tru of an Aston Martin convertible and repeatedly places the lighted end of a cigarette on the cioiti roof. Finally, the cigarette bums through am fiames consume the vehicle. His reasoning be hind this was the fact that he resents people who > brag about spending their children ' s inheritance;, so a dazzling racing green Aston Martin u ith aj bumper sticker that read " Ask me about my grandchildren " was a perfect target to vent his frustration. Besides music, fashion, and an intol- erance of the norm, Xers can be found treadingi on other common grounds. AIDS, health care.i taxes, and gay rights are all pressing issues that unite or divide Generation X. Whether or not the Xers will shake the " Beavis and Butthead " image given to them by former generations and soar toi new heights is a question only time can answer. The future awaits the outcome of a generation deemed lost, but actually only in hiding, waiting for the precise moment to act. -Kevin Raub Chcran Bodr > ' and Angela Culvem both re;ili/L- " Xers " must work harder and longer to achieve less success than their predecessors., Photo bv Marisa ForresI