In a recent study, a third of students surveyed at University of California Irvine said they expected B’s just for attending class lectures. Another 40 percent felt they deserved B’s for simply completing the required reading, according to The New York Times.Professors nationwide have encountered similar feedback.Many observed these grandiose expectations stem from a sense of entitlement, a trait emblematic of today’s collegiate society.”I noticed an increased sense of entitlement in my students and wanted to discover what was causing it,” said Harvard professor Ellen Greenberger.Greenberger related entitlement to increased parental pressure, competition among peers and family members and a heightened sense of achievement anxiety.In his research, Dennis Gaylord found that compared to prior ages, our generation generally holds a more cynical view toward authority and absolute logic. Results also indicated our age bracket has a much more liberal approach to today’s social issues.These findings also suggested — although our generation’s intellectual ingenuity exceeds that of previous cultures — our emotional maturity and ability to handle conflict indicate a lack of personal efficacy.Though no generation is impervious to adversity, ours has been spoiled into expecting any and all effort to be rewarded.Our minds process information quicker, but many of us lack the ambition to put our sense to good use, possibly for lack of inspiration.Conversely, prior cultures were generally instilled with more initiative to overcome adversity. Much of our modern advancement can thus be accredited to their enduring fortitude.For example, past generations looked at higher education as an often unattainable goal. Once college was readily accessible, however, those generations viewed it as a necessary bridge to financial prosperity.Now college is a stage in personal development rather than a medium for long-term success.Further, previous generations drew a distinct line between work and play. Our generation’s collaborative stance is work should be enmeshed with leisure and personal passion.Today’s students outlook on jobs reflects their tendency to pursue enjoyable academic courses rather than potentially valuable ones.According to this logic, blending work and play is perfectly viable.And unlike our parent’s generation, ours generally seeks pleasure over profit.To some extent, this tendency presents a dilemma.While personal satisfaction should be held in higher regard than financial equity, we shouldn’t necessarily anticipate a free ride on the pleasure train.This means we shouldn’t avoid taking initiative or expect things to come easy.It helps to understand the dynamics of those before us — not only to identify their blunders but also to emulate their successes.Scott Burns is a 19-year-old political science major from Baton Rouge.–Contact Scott Burns at [email protected]