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

(∆) Profile of ‘historic’ Broughton High – Why did Obama choose Broughton as the location for his health care forum? It is a school where civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. declared that segregation was un-Christian; the same school was cited by onetime Sen. Jesse Helms as an example of the failure of integration. And Broughton is where many of North Carolina’s governors sent their children to be educated. (News and Observer)

Marketers pay valedictorian to plug movie - Hoping to create a viral buzz about the movie I Love You Beth Cooper, the Intelligence group paid Kenya Mejia $1,800 to close her valedictory speech by saying, “I love you Jake Minor.” But the clip only generated 2,000 hits, the movie bombed, and education officials are angry. (Wall Street Journal)

(∆) Lil’ Wayne prepares for Raleigh concert - Behind-the-scenes look as he prepares for his national tour, which comes to Walnut Creek on Saturday. (MTV)

Penn State top party college – Davidson College has the best professors, all according to a student survey conducted by Princeton review. (Bloomberg)

(∆) Becoming a Tar Heel - NYC freshman writes about her first year on campus at UNC and her new love for basketball.

(∆) Learning about America at Duke – Student shares his impressions of America during his first year at Duke. ‘Hugging a person from the opposite sex is so natural for any American that it almost embarrassed me when I wasn’t able to respond likewise when a couple of girls I hardly knew offered me a hug as a casual greeting.’ (NY Times)

Study: Peer program helps reduce teen crashes -Fatal crashes involving teenage drivers have declined faster in Texas than in other comparable areas, likely because the state’s graduated driver’s license law is boosted by peer education programs, according to a study released Monday.Teenagers don’t always listen to adults,’ 17-year-old Alberto Torres said, “but we do listen to each other.” (Houston Chronicle)

Charges dropped for altered evidence – Prosecutors had to dismiss burglary charges against a Maryland teen when defense attorneys pointed out that the written confession had been changed by a police detective to correct the address of the apartment where the crime took place. Although it appears to have been an honest mistake, David Gray, a law professor at the University of Maryland School of Law, said prosecutors made “absolutely the correct” decision in dropping the burglary charges. (Washington Post)

H.S. student sues over chemistry burns – Family sues chemistry teacher for $25,000 in negligence after daughter received chemical burns in class. Commenters on the article defend teacher, ridicule girl. (Redding.com)

Interview with Taylor Momsen – 16-year-old star of Gossip Girl is launching a singing career. (Teen Vogue)

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

(∆) Raleigh family has 3 valedictorians – Sister and two brothers all graduated top of class from Cardinal Gibbons and now attend Norte Dame. “It’s unbelievable,” said their mother, Mary Ann Enzweiler. “We don’t know what they did, but they’re so competitive with each other. When number one did it, number two did it. It’s contagious.” (News & Observer) photo by N&O

Half of HIV-positive teens unaware – According to a new study by the CDC, 48% of teens with HIV were unaware of their infection and less than 25% of sexually active teens ever get tested for HIV. (RedOrbit)

Valedictorians discuss future with NYTimes – Profiles and excerpts. “For our entire lives someone or somebody or some entity somewhere has been controlling what we do,” Ms. Edwards said. “I can’t imagine how liberating it’s going to be.” (NYTimes) photo by Beatrice de Gea

(∆) Top 10 teen novels of 2009 – According to Wake County Library.

NJ law grants immunity to teen drinkers – If a teen drinks too much and needs medical attention, a friend can call police without either person being charged for underage drinking. (Philly.com)

10 Warning Signs of Teen Dating Abuse – And 10 ways to protect yourself. (ABC News)

Terrible job market for teens – Many places not hiring and if they do, are hiring older workers who were recently laid-off.  Myra Arias said the sour economy has been driven home for her …. when she visited the sandwich shop where she had worked during high school and found a friend’s mother, laid off from a managerial job, behind the counter. (LA Times) photo by Allen Schaben

Fewer college scholarship opportunities – Recession has forced foundations, corporations, colleges and state governments to reduce their financial support for scholarships.  The result is more applications for loans and federal aid.  (NYTimes)

Urban high school has 0 dropouts – Untraditional, small public school in Camden, NJ teaches students to follow their passions. “Our students have the same issues, dilemmas and challenges as students at the larger high schools,” says principal Timothy Jenkins. The graduating class includes students who became pregnant or homeless but still made it through school. (AP) photo by Mike Derer

Study: 15% of teens think they’ll die young - Researchers claim that these teens engage in risky behavior because they believe they are likely to die before 35. The study, based on a survey of more than 20,000 kids, challenges conventional wisdom that says teens engage in risky behavior because they think they’re invulnerable to harm. (LA Times)

Friday’s teen news (local)

How to do graduation in Raleigh – “Spare yourself some aggravation by scheduling a rendezvous point ahead of time. Don’t be among the families wandering around trying to find their newly minted graduates among the crowd of thousands of people.” (N&O) photo by wjzo.com

Profile of Leesville Road valedictorian – “Yik Shing Tung came to the United States from Hong Kong as a fourth grader who could not speak English. For Tung, who has balanced classwork with a part-time job at his aunt and uncle’s restaurant in North Raleigh, the achievement is a way to honor his parents. ‘My parents spend all this time to put me here,’ he said. ‘So I feel that I should show them that I would do something, instead of waste their money and their time.’” (MyNC)

Herald-Sun stories about Durham H.S. graduations – School of Arts, Hillside, Northern.

Carrboro H.S. has first graduation – “All involved admit the first year, 2007-08, wasn’t an easy one for Carrboro High, and the word most commonly used is “tough.” Students were moved from Chapel Hill and East Chapel Hill High School, and not all of them were pleased about it.” (Carrboro Citizen)

Leesville Road graduates celebrate with Clinton – Bill Clinton, in town for a memorial to honor John Hope Franklin, was having dinner and graciously posed for photos with the students at Sullivan’s Steakhouse.” (WRAL)

Tuesday teen news (local)

Seventh grader’s book published – Adam Kurtz of McGee’s Crossroads Middle School in Johnston County published his first book, titled “Super Sonic Kung-Fu James and the Mutated Worm Skin Skeletons.” (MyNC)

Wake County Public Schools graduates more than 8,000 – Detailed list of scholarship winners. (WCPSS)

Two teens rescue men from river – “Two teens on their way home from a store helped rescue two men whose boat capsized on a flooded North Carolina river.” (N&O)

Teen honored for support group – 16-year-old Olivia Stinson was named a winner of the Nestle Very Best in Youth Competition for starting ”the PEN Pals Book Club, a combination literacy and support program for children with a parent behind bars. It has about 80 members, including adult volunteers and mentors.” (N&O)

Monday’s teen news (local)

Teen mother graduates top of class – “I definitely feel that there is a stigma on teen moms, but seeing people like me, I hope that changes the stigma that teen moms can’t graduate from high school, because I am the picture of a teen mother doing all that stuff,” Brittany Black said. Other inspirational graduation stories from Guilford County. (News 14) photo by wjzo

Student starts petition against education cuts – “A Western Alamance High School freshman said she’s tired of all the cuts in education, so she’s doing something about it. About a week ago, Taylor Knox and some of her classmates started a petition asking for no more cuts in classroom. ‘I have a math class of probably 20 to 25 students and our teachers can get on our level and talk to us more and we can understand it better,’ Knox said. ‘Then my theatre teacher, we have about 35 to almost 40 kids in there, and it’s hard to understand and hear the teacher and learn.’” (News 14)

Wake Christian Academy graduation – Video and photos. (Garner Citizen)