Befriending exchange students broadens horizons, world view

By Frank Bi

At Eden Prairie Senior High School, Karin Paul is known as the foreign exchange student who stood up in front of the entire student body at a pep fest and asked if anyone wanted to go see the band Coldplay with her. She’s experienced many American traditions for the first time this year, including Halloween, Thanksgiving and skiing on Minnesota’s “hills.”

Karin Ingrid Anne Maria Paul, 18, moved this summer from a small town in Sweden that was established nearly a millennium ago to Eden Prairie, a 1880s-farming town that is now a Minneapolis suburb.

Befriending the exchange students at your school can show you a perspective of America only a foreign student can show you, and can teach you about other world cultures.... Read more >>

Japanese comics and cartoons -- manga and anime -- growing in popularity with American teens

By Lisa Fan

It is 2:45 on a Thursday afternoon and a group of teenagers are sitting around in a circle at the Brookdale library, laughing and talking. They all have one thing in common: their love for manga — Japanese comic books. They are gathering for their weekly manga club meeting, and are part of a growing trend that is spreading all throughout libraries and schools everywhere.

The advisor, Brookdale Teen Librarian Alicia Anderson, starts off the meeting with a manga-related game; the winners earning Japanese Hello Kitty sodas. They then dive into their discussion of the manga book that was passed out at the last meeting, “The Sand Chronicles.” It is a story with some romance and tragedy, and overall realistic. Manga stories deal with every theme possible, even though they are thought to be mostly science-fiction and fantasy stories.... Read more >>

MySpace vs. Facebook

By Lisa Fan

Social networking sites have become more than just something fun to do in one’s spare time, but a necessity for teens everywhere. Two of these sites stand out in particular: MySpace and Facebook. These two sites, and the differences between them, have become a hot topic at among teenagers. The ultimate question is: Which one is more popular, MySpace or Facebook?

When asked which teens preferred, some said MySpace and some said Facebook, but everyone asked was very firm about their answer, like they had made their mind up a long time ago.

“I like Facebook better because your image doesn’t matter as much and therefore people aren’t so fake. On MySpace, people post 20,000 pictures and stupid bulletins. I hate bulletins,” said Holly Corporaal, 15, a sophomore at Park Senior High School in Cottage Grove. ... Read more >>

Great River School

A glance down the crowded hallways of passing time at Great River reveals an eclectic variety of students, almost all of whom warmly accept each other’s eccentricities. The social hallmark of Great River is the predominant individualism that is accepted and fostered. The sight of an outwardly typical athlete making conversation with a gifted “geek” is not only normal, but expected.... Read more >>

Summer Journalism Workshops

Your Turn -- excerpts from essays on affect on teens during economic downturn

By Twin Cities teens

There were so many compelling examples of how teens are being affected during this economic downturn that we wanted to create a list of excerpts from their essays to share with you.

A good friend of mine has been playing volleyball for years. She usually plays club volleyball and gets way better than the rest of us. She is a great athlete with potential to do some amazing things on the court. This year when I texted her to see what team she made, she answered that she didn’t try out. I was so confused that I personally called her and asked if she had misspelled something. The star of our team last year was not playing volleyball so that her family could save money. – Siri Keller, 15, Southwest High School

When gas started dropping me and my friends would scream and high five each other when we drove past a gas station and saw that gas was down to $2.75. – Heather Thomas, 17, Faribault Senior High

At my job I have noticed that the auto repair business is slow. I worry a little that my hours, if business got slow again, would be cut back like it was for about 5 months last year into this year. But I think that if I had the chance to give up my job for someone who needs a job to support their family, I would gladly do so. – Christen Hildebrandt, 18, Faribault Senior High... Read more >>

Your Turn November winners

By Twin Cities teens

ThreeSixty received 120 entries for its November Your Turn contest that asked teens what impact the economic downturn is having on them. Teens are definitely being affected and are changing the way they think. Many mentioned realizing they don’t need so much stuff, clothing or even much wanted Play Station 3 game system. Even more are worried about paying for college and the majority of you are looking for your first, second and even third jobs to help out your families and save for your education. From home foreclosure, to having to move in to cramped quarters with a relative, this economic downturn is being felt by the majority of you.

This month’s Your Turn winner is Anna Bertel from Southwest High School in Minneapolis. Anna’s single-income family recently moved in with her grandmother and Anna and her mother are now sharing a bedroom. Anna is keeping her head up and counting her blessings, but admits she wakes every day not knowing what it will bring.... Read more >>

How would you close the achievement gap?

In terms of test scores and graduation rates, Minnesota has one of the nation’s biggest achievement gaps between white teens and teens of color. High schools are trying a lot of things — from magnet programs and homework help to hiring more teachers of color — to try to close that gap.

We’d like to know what teens think. What’s one thing you believe could help students of color in your high school score higher on standardized tests and graduate on time?

First-place winner receives $100. Runners-up will receive $25 Target gift certificates. And the first five submissions receive a cool, ThreeSixty t-shirt.

The submission deadline is Monday, Jan. 5

If you won the lottery, what would you do?

Just say "No" to "narcing" yourself out on social networks

By Ariel Kendall

Posting a photo of yourself holding a giant bag of Marijuana on Facebook and writing “Me and my friend Mary Jane” under it is asking for trouble.

In a speech to about 65 students at the University of St. Thomas in November, C.L. Lindsay, an attorney who runs a non-profit dealing with legal problems that often occur on campuses, warned students to think before they post.

“Assume anything you put online will stay there forever,” he said, so don’t post anything you wouldn’t want your mom, employers or professors to see.... Read more >>

Religious teens balance beliefs and pop culture

Religious teens balance beliefs and pop culture

By Tiffany Trawick

Sitting in one of the few chairs set up against the wall at DeLaSalle’s homecoming dance, I watch as the large crowd of excited students shrinks into one huddle as Soulja Boy’s Lyrics blast through the loud speakers: “Dis girl gotta donk. She finna shake it all night. Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow!”

The students on the outside stand on their tip-toes to see what’s going on in the middle of the circle, and everyone is hyped up to see people twerking. I’m just waiting for the song to end.

“No twerking” is one of only a few rules we have at our school dances. It falls under the category of “inappropriate dancing,” and according to my beliefs, twerking is considered sexually immoral. It’s what you might call “booty dancing” but more particularly booty dancing on a male’s privates.

This is just one of what seems like millions of experiences that I’ve had as a Pentecostal Christian attending an inner city, albeit Catholic, high school. I come across many situations daily that conflict with my personal beliefs, whether it’s hearing profanity in the hallways, trying to avoid gossiping at the lunch table, or trying to have fun but still portray the image of a “Christian girl” at school dances. Read more >>

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