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Teen Quits High School Rather Than Stop Cross-Dressing

TresSugar — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:00:00 -0700

16-year-old Jonathan Escobar of Kennesaw, GA, was told by his high school to dress "more manly," so the teen who expressed himself by donning wigs and wearing makeup decided to drop out rather than put up with the dictates.

I think Jonathan looks like an eccentric Hitchcock heroine, and I don't see how this is any different from a teen dressing up goth or emo. (Would they get away with telling a butch girl to dress more feminine?) What do you think about the school's claim that he was causing a commotion with his looks - are they being too conservative about gender?

Were There Mean Girls at Your High School?

TresSugar — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:00:00 -0700

Tina Fey captured the essence of high school girl-on-girl cruelty when she wrote the screenplay for Mean Girls. In the movie, Lindsay Lohan's character Cady describes how the queen of mean Regina George ruled her minion Gretchen, in addition to the whole school:

The meaner Regina was to her, the more Gretchen tried to win Regina back. She knew it was better to be in the plastics, hating life, than to not be in at all.

The New York Times recently stumbled upon the mean-girl phenomenon in the form of a "slut list" at a New Jersey high school. This list included the names of about a dozen pretty and popular incoming freshman along with crass descriptions.

It's safe to assume that every high school girl has experienced the competition and cattiness romanticized by Hollywood (don't forget Gossip Girl too!). But is the New Jersey "slut list" story closer to Hollywood or your own high school experience?

Did You Have a High-School Sweetheart?

TresSugar — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:30:00 -0700

Back to School coverage is in full swing here on the PopSugar Network. While I wouldn't trade an adult relationship for the crushes I had in high school, there's something sweet and exciting about youthful lust and love. Is there someone special who holds the title of your high-school sweetheart? Feel free to share your story, outcome and all, in the comments.

Test Time! High School to Offer Free Pregnancy, STD Tests

TresSugar — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:33:14 -0700

In addition to math, science, and English exams, a New York high school is offering its students an even greater variety of tests: they will now have access to free and confidential pregnancy and STD tests.

Officials at Port Chester High School say they just want to offer students comprehensive health services. The school's clinic, run by Open Door, already offers immunizations, physicals, and vision and hearing tests. But some parents worry that the confidential nature of the STD and pregnancy tests will cut them out of their children's important health decisions. And the president of the school board, who opposes the plan, says it will turn the school into a quasi-maternity clinic.

Do you think it's a good idea?

Would You Cheat For Your Child?

LilSugar — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:00:41 -0700

There are parents who prepare science projects for their children, teachers that pass their answer keys off to their own kids to give them an edge and generations of moms and dads who correct their youngster's homework before they turn it in. At what point does one draw the line between "helping" and cheating? A Pennsylvania mother who worked as the secretary at her daughter's high school changed the child's grades and test scores to improve her class standing. She now faces criminal charges. One report said:

McNeal was charged with 29 counts of unlawful use of a computer and 29 counts of tampering with public records. Each count is a third-degree felony punishable by a maximum of seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

While this is an extreme case, do you think it's ever alright to cheat for your child?

Prep Talk: Justifying Hazing at Boarding School

TresSugar — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:00:00 -0700

High school girls have many ways of punishing each other, the silent treatment being a classic tactic. But what about seniors marching through dorms with the precision of the gestapo, lining up freshmen, yelling at them, making them perform chores, and forcing them to count to 100 in German? It's not reform school - it's an annual ritual at Miss Porter’s, an all-girls boarding and day school in Connecticut where Gossip Girl-sounding names are as common as class rings.

Since Miss Porter's students, graduates, and even the administration are a secretive brood, it’s hard to know which rituals continue today, but we do know traditions die hard on the leafy-green campus. The school even has its own Skull and Bones group named the Oprichniki, after Ivan the Terrible’s secret police. And while Miss Porter's denied its existence in a March New York Times article, 2007 graduate Blair Clarke confirmed it in July's Vanity Fair when she said she “crash-studied German” to join the Oprichniki.

While we can let our imaginations go wild trying to figure out what really goes on at Miss Porter's, we do know this: Tatum Bass, a former student who was expelled, is suing the school for not intervening when she was harassed by the Oprichniki. Why would an otherwise popular senior in student government earn the infamous group's ire? According to Tatum, it started after she suggested the school participate in a multischool prom. As a breach in Miss Porter’s tradition, it was a major faux pas. The taunting, she claims, led to her skipping class and cheating on a test, which led to her expulsion.

What’s shocking is not that she was expelled or that a secret society exists, but that the reaction of students and alumni was, more or less, "Buck up, Bass!" To find out how they reacted, read more.

The ability to tough it out and not go crying to parents is a quality the school proudly instills in girls. So it's no surprise that students and alumni were appalled that Bass used taunting by classmates as an excuse to cheat. Cheating aside, how is it that adults justify teens abusing teens? I found my answer in both the Vanity Fair and New York Times pieces.

Blair Clarke, the confirmed Oprichniki member, said the group never inflicts real pain, just the anticipatory fear of it. Sarah Hart Hansen, a 1974 graduate, told the New York Times, “Maybe there’s nervousness in the beginning, but it’s a bonding moment.” Ah-ha! So it’s not hazing if there’s no physical pain? What a great definition that will create loopholes for underground societies, sororities, and fraternities everywhere.

Should Teen Hugging Be Banned in High Schools?

TresSugar — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:00:00 -0700

With so much bad news coming from high schools (teen violence, low test scores, the list goes on), you’d think that the ubiquity of hugging would be a welcome sign that all is well with American teenagers. Think again!

Some school administrators are wary of this hug-happy generation. “Touching and physical contact is very dangerous territory,” says Noreen Hajinlian, the principal of a junior high school in Hillsdale, NJ, who banned hugging two years ago. “It was needless hugging - they are in the hallways before they go to class. It wasn’t a greeting. It was happening all day.” It sounds like a bad joke, but Hajinlian isn’t the only one who’s banned hugging. Schools across the country, wary of lawsuits, have risked seeming like scrooges and banned what some call the "hello" of the younger generation.

Hmmm. How bad could teen affection be? (Remember the Hugs Not Drugs mantra?) Even boys are in on nonromantic hugging. In an era where teens are living online and socializing via texting and social networking on Facebook and MySpace, real world touchy-feelyness seems like a good way to balance out virtual communication, if you ask me. What do you think?

Teen Accidentally Flashes Privates in Yearbook Photo

TresSugar — Fri, 15 May 2009 11:00:00 -0700

Or perhaps the exposed area is just a shadow? For one 16-year-old junior from Tampa, FL, it doesn't matter. She's regretting her decision to avoid visible panty lines one day by eschewing underwear altogether - and then getting a yearbook photo taken in a short dress. Ruh roh. School administrators have refused to confiscate the yearbook, continuing to hand it out because they don't think you can see anything. This poor teen has to return to school next year, and I hope she gets past this embarrassment. The moral of the story? Wear underwear, people!

High School Reunions Offer a Second Chance For Popularity

TresSugar — Wed, 13 May 2009 12:00:00 -0700

High school reunions may warrant a fresh haircut and a new outfit, but some people go to extremes to impress former nerds, band geeks, jocks, and cheerleaders.

CNN has rounded up some examples. One struggling writer concocted a lie that he wrote the movie Tootsie - and everyone bought it!

Another woman, Andrea, hated high school, so she hired a stripper to go as her to the reunion. Andrea went so far as to plant an earpiece in "Cricket's" ear to feed her information and outrageous statements. And you better believe Cricket demonstrated her dancing skills, posing as Andrea, of course.

The thought of confronting old crushes or the mean girls (or maybe the girls you were mean to) can put a lot of pressure on people. Do you view high school reunions as a competition to prove you've turned out the best, or are the popularity contests so like, totally over?

To see a video of the stripper crashing the reunion, read more.

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Sex and the City Heads Back to School

DearSugar — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:00:00 -0700

Candace Bushnell, the author of the book Sex and the City, just signed a deal with HarperCollins Publishers to write a two book series titled The Carrie Diaries, which will be all about Carrie's high school years. Bushnell has always been interested in writing about Carrie's formative years, before she became the sex columnist we all grew to love, before she meet her three best friends, and before she entered into her tumultuous life in the Big Apple.

While I'm all for keeping Sex and the City alive, I'm not so sure how I feel about these books being geared towards teens. As Bushnell states: "Carrie in high school did not follow the crowd -- she led it," but what kind of a lesson does that teach? High school is hard enough as it is, and if these readers look to Carrie as an inspiration, they might be let down as she was still as lost as ever decades after high school, regardless if she was the most popular girl in school. Perhaps I'm reading too far into this, but tell me your thoughts on The Carrie Diaries. Would you be OK with your teenage kids reading these books or do you think most of the readers will be adult fans of the show?

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