4/28/10 Local Teen News

 Preview of CHHS ‘The Wiz” – 100 students are participating in Chapel Hill High School’s spring musical “The Wiz,” which will be be adapted from the musical and  not the movie. “They run every aspect of the show, for the most part,” Drago said. “This is educational theater. This is the best possible learning experience the students can have, actually doing the show themselves.” (Chapel Hill News)

 College select summer reading for frosh – UNC has selected Picking Cotton, Duke will be reading Everything Matters, Peace College will read The Blue Sweater and both NC State and Meredith will read Half The Sky by Nicholas Krisof and Sheryl WuDunn.  Half the Sky explores issues faced by women around the world, and it offers ways readers can help make a difference. The book’s title refers to a Chinese saying, “Women hold up half the sky.” “This is one of the hardest books I’ve had to read,” said Roger Callanan, an assistant undergraduate dean at NCSU. “This is not pleasurable. But it’s important. We’re talking about real brutality and grotesque abuse. But if you persist, at the end it is hopeful, and it is challenging. Now that you know, what are you going to do?” (N&O)

 Profile of student activist – Dismayed by a single piece of litter at age 6, Morehead scholar Adam Meyer has devoted himself to environmental education and activism, including the opening of HOPE Gardens, a community garden north of UNC that will offer transitional employment to homeless people.  “I always felt a connection to the environment and being outdoors,” he said. “My parents used to have to pull me inside, kicking and screaming.” (Daily Tar Heel)

 Durham Riverside no-hits Northern – Sophomore Dusty Tatum tossed a no-hitter as Riverside beat Northern 2-0 to remain undefeated in the Pac-6.  “He’s been getting better as the season has gone on,” Blowe said of Tatum’s performance. “He’s got great stuff. He’s got four pitches, and he had command of all four of them tonight. He did a great job with both sides of the plate and working from ahead for the most part.” (Herald-Sun)

4/9/10 Local Teen News

 Hillside students aiming for MIT – Students at the New Tech school have been working on creating affordable, environmentally friendly roof gardens and are trying to raise money to show their work at the M.I.T. Eurekafest.  ”I talk about this more than I talk about school,” said Zenik Hite, a junior. “It’s just what we did — what we did to the roof today, what new ideas we came up with.” Added Hite: “It’s pretty much the most exciting part of my day.” (Herald-Sun)

 J.Cole headlines first NY show – NC native and Jay-Z protegee sold-out his first NY show as a headliner.  “Jay told me, ‘It’s your first sold-out show in New York, so take a second after the first song,’ ” Cole told the crowd after breezing through a medley of “Dollar and a Dream II” and “World Is Empty.” “And step back and share it with y’all. So that’s what I’m doing.” (MTV)

 Duke newspaper analyzes admission process – First in a three part series investigates the admissions process to Duke University, where only 14% of applicants are accepted.  But reading applications is not an entirely qualitative process. Both readers assigned to an application rate an applicant on a five-point scale in each of six categories: curriculum, achievement, letters of recommendation, extracurricular activities and personal qualities, essay and standardized testing. “The typical Duke matriculant is a smart, very smart, talented, engaged person,” Guttentag said. “Not fives across the board.” (Chronicle)

 Profile of hooper Emanuel Chapman - Enloe High School point guard Emmanuel Chapman will play next year at NCCU for Coach LeVelle Moton, who idolized Champman’s father growing up.  “He was my idol when I was growing up,” Moton said. “I had never seen anyone handle the ball and pass the way he did.” (N&O)

Friday’s teen news – local(∆) and national

“The Reality of Fashion Jobs” – According to the New York Times, the number of young people pursuing fashion as a career has exploded.  However, this comes at a time when fashion houses are going bankrupt and magazines are folding. Karl Lagerfeld says: “Are you ready to accept injustice?” There will be no hobnobbing, lavish lifestyle, reaping rewards. It’s all grunt work. And I’ve been there. Steaming piles of dresses. Filing. Addressing envelopes. Stuffing envelopes. Paperwork. Packing boxes. On a good day? Cataloguing heaps and heaps of shoes. Quickly. On a deadline.” (Jezebel)

(∆) Bball player released from letter of commitment – When Western Carolina University basketball coach Kellie Harper left for NC State, Kelsey Evans asked to be released from her letter of commitment to play for the school but WCU refused so Evans took them to court and won, which means she can now play this year at another school. (News & Observer) photo by Ted Richardson

Ex-Nirvana members upset about Cobain avatar – Former band mates are upset with Courtney Love for allowing Guitar Hero 5 to use the image of Kurt Cobain in their video game. “It’s hard to watch an image of Kurt pantomiming other artists’ music alongside cartoon characters. Kurt Cobain wrote songs that hold a lot of meaning to people all over the world. We feel he deserves better.” Courtney Love denies she allowed the video game to use Cobain’s image. (Rolling Stone)

Teen track star a hermaphrodite – South African track sensation Caster Semenya was forced to take a gender test after exploding onto the scene to dominate the world track championships.  The tests revealed, according to Daily News, that she has both male and female organs, which means she could be prohibited from competing in future competitions. (CBS)

(∆) NC Board eyes longer school year – 180 days is not enough compared to educational progress occurring in other parts of world, but NC schools are already having difficulty funding 180 days. “When we look at disadvantaged students, they’re really doing nothing productive when they’re away from school,” Bill Harrison said. “The most productive thing they’re doing is sitting and watching TV.” (News & Observer)

“Meet the real Van Jones” – A Los Angeles writer discusses how Jones found his way to the leadership of the Green movement and that his past radicalism should not have been grounds for his dismissal from the Obama cabinet. (LA Times)