3/25/10 Local Teen News

Students critical of suspension rates – Northwood High School student article weighs the pros and cons of the increased suspension rate as of late at the high school.  “I got ISS for being late three days,” said student Sara Billman. “I think that’s kind of ridiculous because it puts us farther behind than we would be normally, and suspending someone from school is kind of counterproductive.” OR “Truthfully the rules themselves haven’t really changed,” said teacher Pat Thornhill. “I think the difference is that the rules are being enforced more consistently than they have been in the past, and some students may perceive that as being stricter, when in fact it’s just more consistent in following the policies we’ve always had.” (Omniscent)

Profile of DSA ultimate frisbee team - Student profile of the sport, the history of the support and the success of the Durham School of the Arts ultimate frisbee team. Senior Nathan Sanders agrees. “I mean it’s competitive, but it’s not like a hardcore competitive league, so it’s more fun.” (The Gallery)

Enloe students wary of changes – Enloe High Schools students have been among the most vocal in protesting the recent Wake County School Board decision to end the diversity policy. “In the neighborhood over here it’s going to be predominantly black students, so I don’t feel it’s fair because when you go to school it’s about meeting new people,” said Enloe student Janikqua Outlaw. (MyNC)

7 books that changed my life - Written by a Duke student: “Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy: This one is so cold it will leave you shivering. The absolute brutality and gore of McCarthy’s Western novel is too much for most readers, but continue on and you’ll witness the experiences of an unnamed character after he joins a gang on the search for Native American scalps. What does one do when confronted with pure evil? Best Line: “When the lambs is lost in the mountain, he said. They is cry. Sometime come the mother. Sometime the wolf.” (Duke Chronicle)

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)

2/9/10 Teen news: local(∆) and national

(∆)NCSSM senior is finalist in Intel Search – Lanair Lett is the only NC student to reach the final round of the 2010 Intel Science Talent Search and has already won a $30,000 scholarship from the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology.  “Lanair’s a very hard worker,” said Jeffery Tessem, a post-doctoral fellow at Duke who supervised Lett’s summer research. “I think that’s one of his best qualities. He’s extremely smart, I don’t want to take away from his intelligence, but I think he shows a high level of dedication that you don’t always see in people his age group.” (Durham Herald)

(∆)Parents sue over CHHS player’s death – The family of Chapel Hill High School football player Atlas Fraley is suing Orange County for alleged negligence in not providing proper care that could have saved the life of the 17-year-old. “Atlas was only 17 years old when he called 911 desperately trying to get the emergency medical care that he needed,” Donald Strickland, the lawyer for the Fraley family, said on Saturday. “He got an EMS worker to his house, but he received no medical care and was left home alone to die alone.” (N&O)

(∆)Raleigh ad company wins Doritos contest – 5 Point Productions earned $650,000 for their 30-second ‘Underdog’ Superbowl ad, the second time this company of young producers has won this contest.  MSNBC also lists their best and worst Superbowl commercials.  (WRAL)

LA student sent home for Colts jersey - A Louisiana high school student who moved from Indiana three years ago was sent home for wearing a Colts jersey on a day the principal encouraged students to wear Saints jerseys.  “If they tell other students to support their team, why can’t I support mine?” Brandon Frost, 17, told The Associated Press. “I thought I remember him saying, ‘If you like Indiana so much, why don’t you go back?”‘ (CBS Evening News)

1/28/10 national teen news

School prohibits bending on dance floor - The Smoking Gun publishes new dance restrictions for Wisconsin high school trying to limit ‘sexual’ dancing at the winter formal; rules include both feet must remain on the floor and no bending. The dance “will be videotaped to insure the safety of all students attending,” the rules note, though Union Grove administrators could presumably review the film for provocative moves that were initially missed by monitors. (Smoking Gun)

Parents tell theater company to tone down Romeo and Juliet - A Canadian theater company that produces plays for high school students has been asked by parents and educators in Nashville to remove the “bawdy” parts of the play.“We would be doing the play a disservice, ourselves a disservice, and the students of Tennessee a disservice if we were to actually try and shy away from the intent of the play,” Mr. Galpern said from his hotel in Nashville. “This is the production that they saw in Toronto that they wanted to bring down here.” (National Post)

Profile of teen Olympic skater Rachael Flatt - 17-year-old Olympian loves lemonade, feta cheese, Dan Brown novels and rollercoasters. She has two Old English Sheepdogs named Fred and Ethel after the I Love Lucycharacters. And she’s been skating since she was only 4 years old. (People Magazine)

“The Untouchable Mean Girls” – Profile of Massachusetts town where popular female students bullied a girl into suicide then laughed about it. “Things like this aren’t supposed to happen in South Hadley,’’ said Darby O’Brien, a high school parent, wondering why the bullies who tormented Phoebe are still in school. “And so instead of confronting the evil among us, the reality that there are bullies roaming the corridors at South Hadley High, people are blaming the victim, looking for excuses why a 15-year-old girl would do this. People are in denial.’’ (Boston.com)

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

JROTC ‘more than just a class’ - Enrollment is up in JROTC programs where students say they are receiving the discipline, structure and support they need while critics argue that these teens are merely being brainwashed.“The pride that these students display when you go in the schools who are in these programs is just amazing. You read it on their face. They walk with a certain confidence,”  researcher Gene Bottoms says. (USA Today)

Students in trouble for 9/11 shirts – A Michigan high school confiscated the hooded sweatshirts of 15 Arab-American students from the class of 2011 students that depicted the school mascot flying into the number 11 with the slogan “You can’t bring us down.” “What took place here today was an inappropriate, distasteful act,” said David Mustonen, a spokesman for Dearborn schools. “(It was) totally inappropriate, totally disrespectful, and they just were not thinking.” Or is all the furor just because these kids are Arab-American?  (WDIV)

Review of ‘Youth in Revolt’ – An original take on the standard teen seeking to lose virginity plot line. “There is a primal fascination with sex at that age that remains constant through generations,” director Miguel Arteta says. “And I think all of these types of movies, regardless of relative shock value, play on the same core concept of how one deals with that new and irrepressible urge.” (LA Times)

Sex abuse rampant at 13 juvenile centers - A government report states that 1 in 3 youths at 13 juvenile detention facilities were the victims of some type of sexual victimization. “Many of these are already the most vulnerable and traumatized youth from all of our communities and they’re placed for custody because they’re considered to be a danger,”Linda McFarlene said. “If sexually abused in those very institutions that are supposed to help them prepare for life in the community, then it’s just an incredible travesty.” (AP)