3/31/10 National teens news

H.S. junior owns dj company, develops tv shows - 17-year-old entrepreneur Oliver Bogner balances school with promoting parties for his dj company, producing and hosting a teen dating show for television and pitching other reality shows to national tv networks.  “When he walked through the door, I was like, ‘What is this?’ He’s a kid,” said Jenny Daly, a producer with Target Entertainment Group. “He was 16. He’s doing what people in the industry coming to me have been doing for 10 years. (LA Times)

A teen jury of peers – 17 teen courts throughout the nation hear cases and decide punishments for first-time juvenile offenders, with the idea that teen jurors would better know what questions to ask and the punishment that may be most effective.  Timothy Williams, a senior who last year sat in the defendant’s chair for fighting and petty theft, said his trial before other students was intimidating and more than a little embarrassing — but effective.”They pretty much understood where I was coming from,” recalled the 17-year-old, who was back in court — this time as a juror. After he was sentenced to curfew, tutoring, community service and meeting minimum grade requirements, he has been doing better in school and hasn’t been in trouble since, he said. (LATimes)

Students still prefer school food to chef’s - After working with a West Virginia school as part of “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution,” most students still preferred the school’s nuggets and pizzas to the chef’s healthier menu.  And when denied the food they were used to, many stopped buying the school lunch. (Salon)

Why girls outperform boys in school? - NYT columnist Nicholas Kristof examines why girls are outperforming boys in almost every single academic category. Mr. Whitmire argues that the basic problem is an increased emphasis on verbal skills, often taught in sedate ways that bore boys. “The world has gotten more verbal,” he writes. “Boys haven’t.” (NYTimes)

2/11/10 Teen News: local(∆) and national

Southern speed skater in Olympics – A former inline roller skater who trained in a South Carolina roller rink, Lauren Cholewinski is now one of the youngest athletes on the US winter Olympics team.  “I’m definitely going more to compete this time as opposed to being a contender for a medal,” said Cholewinski, who attended Rock Hill Northwestern for her first three years of high school. “I’m still really new to the sport. Maybe the next Olympics will be more realistic as far as a medal, but right now it’s a dream come true for me just to have made the Olympic team.” (N&O)

‘Sexting in America:’ One teen’s horror story – MTV uses the story of Ally to premiere their new series on the dangers of sexting, a practice which 17% of teens have reported doing.  “It was one picture, and he sent it out to everybody in his address book,” the now-20-year-old told MTV News. “We were broken up, and I guess he did it to make himself seem cool. I never thought anybody else would see it. … It was an impulsive thing that I did.” Though her face was not in the photo, Ally said word about who the mystery subject was quickly raced around the school. “You wouldn’t think that something could spread that far, that fast,” said Kacie, one of Ally’s good friends. (MTV)

UNC students claim misrepresentation – The UNC students who were quoted in an article about the gender imbalance at UNC claim that the New York Times reporter used their quotes out of context.  Emily Kinnard is quoted in the article as saying that cheating is “a thing that girls let slide, because you have to. If you don’t let it slide, you don’t have a boyfriend.” However, she explained to Gawker, “[Williams (the reporter)] brought up cheating,” says Kennard. “I made it clear that first of all, I don’t have a boyfriend. Second of all, I clearly stated my strong opinions about how I don’t like cheating, and don’t tolerate it or condone it, but that I do know people who do cheat and stay together. I’m not saying the majority of people at UNC do it. I said I know people who have done it. I was not talking about myself. I was not saying I think you have to lie. I don’t think you should.” The article also includes a response from the NYT reporter. (Gawker)

Writing a research paper? – 7 tips from university professors.  (US News)

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

Lupe: Hip-hop partly to blame for Derrion’s killing – Speaking on the beating death of the Chicago high school student, Lupe criticized radio stations for not playing positive music: “Hip-Hop has to take some fault for that.  Just in the fact that the amount of violence and the amount of negativity that’s in Hip-Hop and the music, it attributes to so much that goes on, negatively, in the hood.” (News One)

Indian student suspended for ‘cultural’ nose ring – Utah high school suspended Suzannah Pabla for violating the dress code by wearing a nose ring, which she wears in honor of her Indian heritage.“It’s true that the nose ring is mainly a cultural thing for most Indians,” Singh said. “Even if it is just culture, culture matters. And her right to express or explore it seems to me at least as important as her right to express her religious identity.” (AP)

Gender expression challenges h.s. dress codes – Boys in dresses, girls in tuxedoes.  Should students be allowed to express their sexuality if identity issues distract from classroom education? “He was cross-dressing, and it caused a disruption in the normal instructional day,” said Kevin Christian, a district spokesman. “That’s the whole point behind the dress code.” (NY Times) photo by Joshua Lott

Chris Brown: ‘Abuse of any kind is wrong’ – In interview with MTV, Brown also says , “I made a big mistake. I’m learning from it. Like, I’m not saying, ‘Who are they to judge?’ because, I mean, everybody’s entitled to their own opinion on how they feel, but it hurts.” (MTV)

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)

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

Ky. school trip included baptisms – Parent upset with football coach who took 20 players on a voluntary field trip to a revival where her son got baptized without her knowledge.  She said she was told the trip was for a dinner and doesn’t understand how a city school bus could be used for a religious trip.  Other parents said they were the coach was offering to take players to a revival and that there is no problem since it was voluntary.  (USA Today)

(∆) Numbers of Wake Co. females in AP classes rising – Up 26% in biology, 47% in calculus in last three years, SAT scores between genders shrinking.  However, this year’s enrollment in advanced classes is hurt by budget cuts. (MY NC)

Teenage unemployment rate hits record high – 25% of teens who want work unable to find jobs, highest number since tracking started in 1948.  Reasons include: businesses hiring less seasonal labor, college graduates unable to find better jobs working traditional teen jobs, older workers not retiring, more teens entering college rather than working, etc. (NY Times)

NE prep school builds library without books – Cushing Academy is giving away 20,000 books and building a $500,000 virtual learning center with computers that can access millions of books.“When I look at books, I see an outdated technology, like scrolls before books,’’ Cushing headmaster James Tracy told the Globe. “We’re not discouraging students from reading. We see this as a natural way to shape emerging trends and optimize technology.’’ (Fox News)

(∆) H.S. sports help build community – According to new book by assistant football coach at Durham Jordan High School, sports help build local community in an era where the sense of community is disappearing. (News & Observer) Photo by Ray Black III

US teen reaches US Open quarterfinals – 17-year-old Melanie Oudin is the story of the tournament, youngest American to reach this stage since Serena Williams. (Sports Illustrated)

Untucked shirts lead to suspensions – 85 students at a Pittsburgh area high school were sent home for violating their school’s dress code by refusing to tuck in their shirts.  The school says this dress code is necessary to make sure students are hiding anything in their clothes. (Philly.com)