Interviewing Generation Y

Recently, I was asked to interview two young men in their early twenties who were in a federally funded basic law enforcement training program. The program was geared toward placing educated local law enforcement officers on the street. The two men were suspected of cheating while grading each other’s weekly tests in class. If they were found to be guilty, they would not only be expelled from the course but would have to reimburse educational funds and other costs.

In individual interviews, each expectedly denied cheating. However, eventually both admitted breaking the rules so they wouldn’t fail the course. Neither displayed remorse but lamented that they had been discovered.

After the interview, I said to myself, “Welcome to Generation Y.” I’ve certainly interviewed many who were cold and calculated. However, I had never experienced this particular mind-set of, “Yes, I got caught but I don’t really see how I have done anything wrong” before. It was as if cheating were the norm for them and an accepted form of behavior.

Seventy million strong, Generation Y, also known as the Millennium generation, comprise those persons born from 1980 to about 1990, which places the oldest members of this segment at or near 27. This isn’t a traditional span of years for a generation (for example, the baby boomers were born from 1946 through 1964), but changes in society are accelerating changes in people.