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)

3/16/10 Local Teen News

Kings of Leon, Gaga to play Raleigh – Kings of Leon, Lady Gaga, and Jack Johnson are among the artists who have already announced local concert dates for this summer.  A few years ago, Kings of Leon played the Cat’s Cradle, now they are expected to sell-out Walnut Creek. (MyNC)

So. Durham sprinter wins national title – Southern Durham High School sprinter Desmond Lawrence, who will play football and run track next year at ECU, won the 60 meter dash at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships in New York this past weekend with a time of 6.93 seconds. Millbrook sophomore Samantha George finished second place in the mile with a time of 5:01.29. (N&O)

Hillside student wins presidential award – Junior Moses Richards won the President’s Volunteer Service Award for his work as a mentor and counselor with Duke’s BOOST program, which encourages middle school students to become interested in science.  ”Moses is an exemplary student and leader at Hillside, and we are very proud of his service to his fellow students and our community,” said Hillside principal Hans Lassiter. “To have Moses recognized by the president and to represent Hillside in such a wonderful way is indeed a testament to him, his teachers and his family.” (Herald-Sun)

Army changes basic training – Adapting to battlefield experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Army has revamped basic training to emphasize quick sprints and core muscles rather than long runs and bayonet drills. “Most of these soldiers have never been in a fistfight or any kind of a physical confrontation. They are stunned when they get smacked in the face,” said Capt. Scott Sewell, overseeing almost 190 trainees in their third week of training. “We are trying to get them to act, to think like warriors.” (N&O)

2/12/10 Teen News: Local and National

Durham teen best rapper in Triangle – According to the Independent, 19-year-old Kourvioisier’s mixtape signals a dynamic new voice in the hiphop world.“Do not recommend simple syllables/ sample subliminals/ nerve struck/ terrible the intention,” he lets loose in one instance. “KRS the teacher/ I’m the sub/ Now you got detention/ double loser who recycled in defeat/ The stripes get beat off of Tigers who wanna cheat.” (Indy)

Teen hunter wins swan contest - 15-year-old Nathan Garrett, who is also a hunting guide and nationally published wildlife author, won the world junior swan calling championships at the East Carolina Wildfowl Guild’s 15th Annual Wildlife Arts Festival.“It’s like hunting with a 40-year-old,” Bliven said. “He just lays back. He knows when to call, when not to call. He identifies birds. He’s just a natural.” (N&O)

ECHHS wins state swim championship - “As a senior, to win … the relay and win the state title, it makes it all worth it,” said Dania Marinshaw, one-fourth of the winning relay team. “It’s going out with a bang. And it’s coach’s last season, so we wanted to win it for her. It’s so rewarding.” (Herald-Sun) Photo gallery by N&O

Hanes Mall begins teen escort policy - This Winston Salem mall has started a new policy where all youth under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult after 6 pm on Friday and Saturdays.  “The conduct of unsupervised youth and young adults at Hanes Mall has created an uncomfortable atmosphere for mall visitors and an increasing safety challenge,” the release said. (Greensboro Record)

2/8/10 Teen news: local(∆) and national

(∆)H.S. senior raises awareness of NC driving law – Spurred by the driving death of her classmate, West Johnston High School senior Victoria Creese has initiated a scholarship program that calls attention to the NC law that prohibits young drivers from having more than one passenger under the age of 21.  “Students don’t need to be dying on the roads,” Creese said. (N&O)

(∆)Shortage of men on college campuses – The New York Times focused on UNC to illustrate the dating problems on college campuses where females are 57% of the student body. “My parents think there is something wrong with me because I don’t have a boyfriend, and I don’t hang out with a lot of guys,” said Ms. Andrew. “There are no guys.”(NYT)

(∆)A Day in the Life - A Duke newspaper columnist describes her typical Monday, beginning at 8:45 a.m. and ending at 2:50 a.m. 10:06 p.m.: Snap to! To-do list: 50 pages for English due tomorrow and 17 questions spread out over 30 pages for Spanish due tomorrow. Not going to be collected, so make maximum minimal effort. (Duke Chronicle)

R.S. interviews Wayne before prison – Lil’ Wayne gives his last interview before beginning 12 months in prison on a 2007 gun charge.  Link to 2008 story in Rolling Stone:Wayne’s rhymes are as varied as his moods, ranging from quick-tongued braggadocio about girls, cash and guns to gut-wrenching expressions of personal pain. He’s a compulsively listenable dude who will sometimes sing (badly) and rhyme in French; a five-foot-six-inch bundle of energy spitting left-field references — Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Bill Laimbeer, tooth fairies — and consistently great punch lines: “My spot remain, like a bleach stain, or cranberry/It’s murder she wrote, like Angela Lansbury. Also, XXL story on the search for the next Lil Wayne. (Rolling Stone, XXL)

2/05/10 Teen news: (∆)local and national

Can schools punish students for Facebook postings? – Two federal courts have recently ruled differently, one deciding that a school can suspend a student for posting a sexually explicit parody of the principal while a different federal court ruled schools have no right to police the Internet.  “The law was unclear and now it’s in a state of chaos,” said lawyer Witold Walczak of the American Civil Liberties Union. Also, a Tampa student says he was kicked out of the National Honor Society for creating aFacebook page that was critical of his school. (Washington Post)

Taylor Swift backlash rages – Is Taylor Swift an immensely talented artist or merely a cardboard creation of the Nashville music industry?  MTV has compiled comments from her greatest supporters and her greatest detractors. Also, a link to her label head who blamed her Grammy’s performance on a “volume problem in the ear.” (MTV)

(∆)Southern Durham H.S. rebuilds wrestling program – Since James Taylor assumed coaching duties, Southern’s wrestling program has expanded from 12 to 25 wrestlers and on the verge of winning the Pac-6 championship for the first time. “That’s what hurt us our first two years,” he said. “Everybody was skeptical about wrestling, so we printed out a list of all the NFL players that wrestled and it was over 200.” (Durham News)

(∆) Apex church to offer free prom dresses - “There are a lot of girls that would like to go to the prom but the way the economy is not everyone has the finances to go,” said shop committee member Sydney Froom. “We have so many young people here in Apex so we asked for donations and they have been pouring in.” The Prom Shop will be held Friday, Feb. 19 from 6-8 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 20 from 9 a.m. to noon at Apex UMC. (Fuquay Varina Independent)

(∆) Wake County school news – NAACP leader urges pastors to fight for diversity policy (N&O),  Wake Co. Ed. chair explains status of meeting with NAACP (WRAL) and 14 Wake County magnet schools win national awards (N&O)