3/3/10 Local Teen News

Wake Co. school board changes policy – Following a tense meeting, the school board voted 5-4 to end the long-standing diversity policy in favor of assigning students to neighborhood schools.  Dawn Bartlett, a parent, said neighborhood schools will be better for families.”I’m completely in favor of neighborhood and community schools,” Bartlett said. “It will allow me to volunteer in a school that’s not 20 miles away.” VS. “In the words of George Wallace, do you want your legacy to be segregation now, segregation forever?” said Samuel Greene, a retired Wake principal. Barber said, “Your plan is wrong. It’s wayward. It will make things worse and you know it. Data doesn’t support it. Morality doesn’t support it.” (N&O)

Hillside grad tells story of Emmett Till – Kevin Wilson wrote the play as a 15-year-old sophomore at Durham Hillside, then decided to revive the production when some of his fellow college students didn’t know of Emmett Till. “It’s bigger than us,” Wilson said. “We have a message to tell. I really want people to hear the story, not just in Greensboro and not just in Durham. It’s an important, forgotten story.” (Herald-Sun)

How teens earn money - Students at Riverside High School discuss how they make money through allowance, jobs, or entrepreneurship. Garrett Dahms and his brother have operated a dog boarding facility of 200 clinets for over eight years: “My brother and I started doing it during the summers so that people could leave their dogs in a more family friendly environment.  We started out doing it just for friends as a favor since we had the space.”  (Pirate’s Hook)

Profile of scientist Chelsea Sumner - Working with Project SEED, Knightdale H.S. student Chelsea Summer won a science competition for her project on hydrogen and alcohol addiction and will now travel to China to present her project.  “I really hope to learn something so that I can bring my experiences back and share them with other people, especially to encourage other students so that they know they can achieve what I achieve-that it’s not impossible.” (Knightdale News)

N&O preview of high school soccer - ESPN has ranked Leesville Road High School the #1 soccer team in the nation and last year’s player of the year Mollie Pathman returns for her senior year at Durham Academy.  (N&O)

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2/17/10 Teen News: local(∆) and national

(∆)DSA grad wins car design contest - Sean Coleman’s design for an eco-friendly car beat 1 million other designs to win the Shell Eco-Marathon Americas (SEMA) Urban Concept Car Competition.  He learned to sculpture as a student at Durham School of Arts and his prototype will be built this fall.  “Designed for, not highway use, but getting to work in the city, making a small run to the grocery store. I guess it’s the moped of the car world,” he said. (WTVD)

Student can sue over Facebook suspension – A federal judge decided that a Florida student can proceed with her case against a school district that suspended for creating a Facebook page that was critical of her English teacher.  “This is an important victory both for Ms. Evans and Internet free speech,” her lawyer said, “because it upholds the principle that the right to freedom of speech and expression in America does not depend on the technology used to convey opinions and ideas.” (NYT)

(∆)Knightdale student lobbies for AP class – When Knightdale High School decided not to offer an AP chemistry class, award-winning scientist Chelsea Sumner has rallied and organized her peer students to revamp the science program.  She texted friends. She visited classrooms. She talked it up. And now, one month later, she has names of 30 people who want to take the AP course. (East Wake News)

Profile of 14-year-old political pundit - Author of best-selling book Defining Conservatism: The Principles that will Bring Our Country Back, 14-year-old Jonathan Krohn is conservatism’s youngest star.  “Here’s the deal,” he says, “I’m not like a lot of my colleagues who think President Obama’s goal is trying to harm the country. That’s insanity. That’s out there. That’s loony tunes.” (Daily Beast)

(∆)Wake County school chief Del Burns resigns (N&O)

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)

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

STD’s among teens still on rise - Researchers point to abstinence-only sex education for continual increase of chlamydia, gonorrhea,and  syphillis. “Overall, CDC estimates that 19 million new sexually transmitted infections occur each year, almost half among 15- to 24-year-olds.” (MSNBC)

(∆) Teen researcher could win $100,000 – NC School of Science and Math senior Lanair Lett has reached the finals of the 2009 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology for his work on genes and diabetes.”My grandmother always told me that talent is ten percent and everything else is hard work,” the 17 year-old said with a big grin on his face. “I think I’m more of a testament to that than being a whiz kid.” (MY NC)

ACORN ‘prostitute’ is conservative rock star - Conference of conservatives honors Hannah Giles, the young woman who initiated and starred in the “pimp and ho” video that took down ACORN. In her lecture Friday about how to take down liberal organizations and expose what she called media corruption, Giles sought to stir others to action. “Above all, attack, attack, attack,” she said, quoting Republican consultant Roger Stone. “Never defend.” (LA Times)

‘Unfriend’ is 2009 dictionary’s ‘Word of the Year’ - New Oxford American Dictionary’s 2009 Word of the Year’s other finalists were netbook and sexting. (News and Observer)

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

NJ teens sue over ‘God Bless America’ ejection – Three teenagers say their constitutional rights were violated after they were ejected from a minor league baseball stadium for not standing during performance of ‘God Bless America.’”Nobody sits during the singing of ‘God Bless America’ in my stadium,” the lawsuit quotes the owner as saying. “Now the get the (expletive) out of here.” The owner denies this but won’t specify why the teens were ejected. (AP)

(∆) Teen continues charity despite recession – 16-year-old Nicholas Marriam, a cancer survivor, raised over $91,000 last year for his non-profit that provides gift bags for cancer patients.  This year, he has only raised $1,000. “They’re busy worrying about their finances, and that’s understandable,” Marriam said of potential donors. “When the economy does pick up, I wouldn’t expect, but I would hope that they are more generous. So we’ll see.” (Garner Clayton Record)

Parents in Sioux Tribe sue over dress code - Parents said they were neither consulted nor informed of new policy and that they cannot afford the school uniforms.  The school says uniforms are necessary because of the growing gang problem.”They’re not teaching our kids. They’re worried about what they’re wearing to school. That’s what makes me angry,” a parent said. (Sioux City Journal)

MIT students photograph outer space for $150 – Used a weather balloon, cell phone, camera and a beer cooler to successfully transmit photos from outer space, for $150. To learn more, see here. (Gizmodo)

(∆) Former band member joins football team - 6’4″ and 250 pounds, Brandon Thorpe played for the Garner High band instead of the football team because of a hurt back.  But after surgery, he joined the team this year where he is a back-up center. “I had no idea how hard they work and how hard they work at building a team,” Thorpe said. “I’ve never pushed myself this much physically. I knew they worked hard, but I didn’t know they worked this hard. This has been so good for me.” (News & Observer)