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

Pregnant girl fights to stay on team – Outside the Lines video about a Texas teen volleyball player who was removed from the team after she became pregnant, but was then later reinstated after her family fought the dismissal.  Video. (ESPN)

Sexting common among teens – According to a recent poll, 25 of teens have been involved in sexting in some form. “Sometimes they think of it as a joke; they have a laugh about it,” Bogle said. “In some cases, it’s seen as flirtation. They’re thinking of it as something far less serious and aren’t thinking of it as consequences down the road or who can get hold of this information. They’re also not thinking about worst-case scenarios that parents might worry about.” (N&O)

Bullying over sexting leads to suicide – 13-year-old Hope Witsell sent a topless photo to a boy in hopes of attracting his interest.  Instead, the photo ended up all over school which led to incessant bullying and eventually suicide. (MSNBC)

Parents hope son inspires more black organ donors – 17-year-old Brandon Spight decided to be an organ donor and after his death, his organs have helped save the lives of only five people.  Only an estimated 30% of blacks are organ donors. (Mercury News)

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

(∆)Chapel Hill Halloween to restrict outsiders – Calling it Homegrown Halloween, the town of Chapel Hill is blocking off roads and parking to prevent outsiders from coming to Franklin Street.“This is a local event,” Mayor Kevin Foy said. “If you can walk to Halloween, you’re invited. If you can’t, don’t come.” Last year’s Halloween crowd was 35,000, down from 80,000 the year before.  Officials claim one reason they want to limit attendance is because of the swine flu. (Daily Tar Heel)

White woman wins HBCU beauty pageant - Columnist asks if outrage is justified at Hampton University, where a white woman won the university’s beauty pageant.  The columnist wonders why there was not similar outrage when a white student for the first time won valedictorian at Morehouse College last year. Also, why the hell are colleges and universities even HOSTING these events? (News One)

1 in 7 girls at Chicago h.s. is pregnant – 115 students at Robeson High are pregnant.  School officials and students say the number is so high because of absentee fathers, lack of communication and support in the home, and desire for public assistance. A non-profit is opening a day care across the street. (CBS 2)

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

Morehouse’s new dress code bans do-rags, sagging pants – Deemed the “Appropriate Attire Policy,” the school leadership at this HBCU wants the new dress code to idealize the Renaissance Man.  Not everyone supports the new code: “The very opposite of change is uniformity; freedom of expression lives at the root of individuality,” Leonard stated. “We have obviously strayed away from the core values fought for by our ancestors to be free, and have instead opted to conform to the very standards that have crippled us and our society; the very standards that continue to deem us unworthy.” (Maroon Tiger)

From bullied teen to fitness coach – Charles D’Angelo was once a depressed, 350 pound teen, but in three years has become a model in Cosmo magazine who wants all teens to stay healthy.  The number of obese teens is almost 20% as opposed to only 5% in the late 1970s. (CNN)

Pregnant teen on cover of Teen Vogue – Magazine says they didn’t know about pregnancy until after the photo shoot and production deadlines, but either way, this MSNBC columnist thinks cover will spark discussion. (MSNBC)

Teen suspended for Gamecocks t-shirt – A teen from South Carolina was suspended in Louisiana for wearing a University of South Carolina t-shirt that read “Go Cocks!” (Examiner)

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

Teen t-shirt entrepreneur wins $10,000 – LA teen was chosen among 27,000 entrants in National Youth Entrepreneurship Contest for his ‘inspirational’ t-shirts.In the next year, he says, “we plan to get our shirts into events like fairs, swap meets and farmers markets. … We want to get our shirts into different stores that they can be sold at as well. We want to get someone famous to endorse it.” (NPR)

Columbine killer’s mom talks with Oprah – Dylan Klebold’s mother wrote in O Magazine that she didn’t realize her son was so disturbed. “Dylan’s participation in the massacre was impossible for me to accept until I began to connect it to his own death,” she wrote in excerpts released by the magazine in advance of Tuesday’s publication. “Once I saw his journals, it was clear to me that Dylan entered the school with the intention of dying there. And so in order to understand what he might have been thinking, I started to learn all I could about suicide.” (LA Times)

(∆)Police fight culture of ‘no snitching’ – Durham police unable to solve crimes because witnesses are unwilling to testify, a trend which begins in schools. “If you tell and others find out, you’ll see a resistance in people talking to you and hanging out with you,” said Trevon Spence, 17, a senior at Durham’s Jordan High School. “You start to lose your friends …. Sometimes losing them is worse than getting jumped.” (N&O)

(∆)Durham starts youth magazine – UNC and Central journalism students will mentor SEEDS students to produce The Durham Community Voice, a monthly 24-page glossy paid for by The Daily Tar Heel.  ”The bottom line is let’s get ‘em off the corners and into newsrooms,” Lauterer said. “And if we can’t get ‘em into newsrooms, then let’s make a newsroom.” (Herald Sun)

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

Explicit book leads to school review – A Virginia man says he became “infuriated” when he discovered that his 16-year-old son brought home a book,”Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky, he’d been given in school that contained references to homosexuality, drug use and explicit sexual behavior. “I don’t think it’s age-appropriate for anyone,” he said. “I don’t think adults should be reading that junk. It’s pornography. They’re corrupting his mind with this garbage.‘ (Fox News)

(∆) 102 students sent home for dress code – Wilson County high schools instituted a new policy of automatic three day suspension for any students violating the dress policy by having their shirts untucked and their pants sagging. (WRAL)

Do elite colleges discriminate against Asian students? – An examination of test scores and acceptance rates indicates that more-qualified Asians are passed over for lower-scoring minorities, athletes, and rich white students. (US News)

Did school closings lead to Chicago violence? – When Arne Duncan closed schools, he forced students to attend schools across community and gang lines, leading to constant fighting. “You have a trail of blood and tears ever since they launched (Renaissance 2010),” said Tio Hardiman, director of the anti-violence organization CeaseFire Illinois. “There’s a history of violence associated with moving kids from one area to another.”(AP)

Teens recommend ways to reduce teen violence - Chicago teens say their most dangerous time is when they leave school until they arrive home.  Students’ 28-page paper recommend gang intervention and prevention and support for community groups like Cease Fire. “One of the problems is that (adults) are just talking about it and anything we might suggest, they have a problem with,” Gaeta said. “But this is trial and error and since violence is becoming such a big problem, why not try things out and who knows? Maybe it might work.” (Chicago Tribune)