Here is the May 2019 edition of Teenagers in The Times, the last of the 2018-2019 school year. This roundup of news and feature stories about young people that have recently appeared across sections of NYTimes.com appears on the first Thursday of each month from September until June.
Within these monthly lists, we hope students find articles that capture their imagination and show them what is happening among people in their age group around the world. For the summer months, however, we offer students the opportunity to find and tell us what interested them the most in The Times each week. Our 10th Annual New York Times Summer Reading Contest runs from June 14 until Aug. 23, 2019.
For ideas about how to use Teenagers in The Times with your students, please see our lesson plan and special activity sheet, both of which can be used with this or any other edition.
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Civics, Politics, Economics and Business
HUD Says Its Proposed Limit on Public Housing Aid Could Displace 55,000 Children
The proposal, published on Friday, would prohibit families with at least one undocumented immigrant from obtaining public housing benefits.
Teenage Girls and Dating Violence: Why We Should Be Paying Attention
A new study found that 90 percent of young people killed by an intimate partner from 2003 to 2016 were girls.
Video of New Jersey Teenager’s Violent Arrest Prompts Protests
A videotape of Dover police officers punching and choking Cyprian Luke, 19, as they took him into custody exposes a rift in the community.
Writing About Teenager Who Makes Sex Videos, School Paper Becomes the News
The Bruin Voice in Stockton, Calif., refused to submit its student profile for approval before publication. Cue a nationwide debate about censorship.
10 Teenagers Burned by Acidlike Liquid Thrown From Above at Raucous Party
The teenagers, some of them students at Brooklyn Tech, had been partying in a rented basement room at a public housing complex in Manhattan’s East Village.
‘Become My Mom Again’: What It’s Like to Grow Up Amid the Opioid Crisis
Call them Generation O, the children growing up in families trapped in a relentless grip of addiction, rehab and prison.
Filling Oreo With Toothpaste Earns YouTube Prankster a Jail Sentence
A Spanish court gave Kanghua Ren, known as ReSet, a 15-month prison term and ordered him to pay his victim, a homeless man in Barcelona, about $22,300 in compensation.
3 of This Year’s Spelling Bee Winners Are Friends From Dallas
The region, where the boys competed together and became friends, has emerged as something of a spelling juggernaut in recent years.
National Spelling Bee, at a Loss for Words, Crowns 8 Co-Champions
A group of adolescents broke the Scripps National Spelling Bee, with eight contestants crowned co-champions after the competition said it was running out of challenging words.
The Scripps Spelling Bee Is Broken. Please Don’t Fix It.
Too many winners is not always a bad thing, argues this Opinion essay writer.
Let’s Hear It for the Average Child
This Opinion essay states, “In this season of prizes and trophies, we salute all the students whose talents lie outside the arena.”
Can Californians Still Find a Path to Mobility at the State’s Universities?
“As a counter to staggering inequality, the system needs to be more open to the people who actually live in the Golden State,” states this Opinion writer.
‘It’s Like the Wild West’: Sexual Assault Victims Struggle in K-12 Schools
While college campuses have become the battleground for Title IX debates, the mishandling of sexual assault cases in primary and secondary schools receives less attention.
A Priest Impregnated a Teenager. Decades Later, Should He Be Allowed to Teach?
An arbitrator ruled last month that Joseph DeShan can remain in the classroom, igniting a debate between parents determined to oust him and those who defend the longtime teacher.
Rhode Island District May Reverse Policy to Serve Cold Sandwiches to Students With Lunch Debt
The superintendent of the Warwick Public School District said the school committee would vote next week on a proposal to reverse the policy.
How New York’s Elite Public Schools Lost Their Black and Hispanic Students
At one school, black and Hispanic enrollment plummeted to 14 percent from 50 percent. At another, it went to 4 percent. “What has happened?” a black alumna asked.
Overlooked No More: Barbara Johns, Who Defied Segregation in Schools
At 16, Johns led a strike by the student body that ultimately became one of five court cases consolidated into Brown v. Board of Education.
A Half-Century of School Shootings Like Columbine, Sandy Hook and Parkland
A Times analysis of school shooting data identified hundreds of deaths and injuries across more than 100 episodes since 1970.
We Have 2 Dead Young Heroes. It’s Time to Stand Up to Guns.
This Opinion column states, “It’s too late to save Kendrick Castillo and Riley Howell, but we can honor them by taking on gun violence.”
The larger meaning of the surprise Morehouse gift is the topic of this Opinion essay.
A Pledge to Pay Morehouse College Students’ Debt Prompts Elation, Envy and a Host of Questions
Robert F. Smith pledged to wipe out the debt of the graduating class at Morehouse College. Now the students are anxiously waiting to hear what happens next.
The Morehouse Gift, in Context: An Average Black Graduate Has $7,400 More in Debt Than White Peers
Four years after graduation, they still owe an average of $53,000, almost twice as much as whites.
We Are Applauding the ‘Gift’ of an Affordable Education. Something Has Gone Wrong.
This Editorial states, “The Morehouse College class of 2019 will walk into adult life unburdened by student debt. What about everyone else?”
4 Years of College, $0 in Debt: How Some Countries Make Higher Education Affordable
When we asked people around the world what sort of financial burden they bore for their higher education, we heard how much it varies from country to country.
A Financial Checklist for Your Newly Minted High School Graduate
We’ve got budget, retirement account, credit, information security and insurance advice for your independent adult, college student, gap-year taker or future soldier.
Admissions Scandal: When ‘Hard Work’ (Plus $6.5 Million) Helps Get You Into Stanford
The news that a Chinese family paid $6.5 million to help secure a spot at Stanford illuminated the global reach of the college admissions scheme.
His Father Paid $400,000 to Get Him Into Georgetown. Now He’s Suing the School.
Two months after the scandal broke, Georgetown said it planned to dismiss two students. One is suing, saying the university denied him due process.
L.A.’s Elite on Edge as Prosecutors Pursue More Parents in Admissions Scandal
New parents have been told that they are under investigation, while others worry that they will be. “This is the only thing they can think about,” one lawyer says.
Low-Income College Students Are Being Taxed Like Trust-Fund Babies
Higher education officials are calling on Congress to fix a provision in the Trump administration’s tax overhaul that has caused unintended tax increases. The rates, which will take effect on July 1, won’t make a big difference in monthly payments. But given the cost of college, one expert says, “this is a bit of good news.”
Free College, the Best Version
“Tennessee and Chicago aren’t just giving handouts to the affluent,” states this Opinion essay writer.
Arizona Students Protest Border Patrol Detention of Classmate
More than 100 classmates called for the release of Thomas Torres-Maytorena, 18, who was detained last week after the authorities say he “indicated” he had an “overstayed visa.”
A Teacher Shared Her Salary, and a Stranger Started a School Supplies Wish List
Last month, Ben Adam, a New Yorker who owns a real estate company, started the website Classroom Giving to help teachers in need of supplies.
F.B.I. Is Said to Be Investigating College Admissions Practices at T.M. Landry
The private school in Louisiana, once celebrated for helping underprivileged and minority students attend elite colleges, is now under federal investigation over its college applications.
Fairy-Tale College Applications
A school made headlines for sending black students to elite campuses, but it was too good to be true.
Swarthmore Fraternities Disband After Uproar Over ‘Rape Attic’ Documents
The move comes after the release of more than 100 pages of internal documents in which members of Phi Psi discussed sexual misconduct.
‘It Is a Victory for Me’: B.Y.U. Valedictorian Announces He Is Gay
During his commencement speech, Matt Easton, a Brigham Young University valedictorian, told the audience that he was “proud to be a gay son of God.” The university’s honor code prohibits “homosexual behavior.”
How to begin solving it is the subject of this Opinion essay.
Harvard Lampoon Apologizes for Sexualized Image of Anne Frank
The student-run satirical magazine set off an uproar at Harvard by publishing an image showing the Holocaust victim’s face on the body of a bikini-clad woman.
When the Names on Campus Buildings Evoke a Racist Past
As students demand the renaming of buildings whose names pay tribute to polarizing historical figures, universities are at a loss for easy solutions.
Trash, the Library and a Worn, Brown Table: The 2019 College Essays on Money
Each year, we ask high school seniors to submit college application essays they’ve written about work, money, social class and related topics. Here are five that moved us.
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Science, Health, Technology and Sports
Big Question at the Hockey World Championship: Who’s No. 1 (in the Draft)?
Jack Hughes of the U.S., the top-rated North American prospect, and Kaapo Kakko of Finland, the top European prospect, are under the microscope as they play for their national teams.
A Harlem Team Is Changing the Face of Lacrosse
Frederick Douglass Academy in Harlem is playing for its third straight New York City boys’ lacrosse title. The team is a sign of progress for a sport seen as elite, suburban and mostly white.
At Black Colleges, the Baseball Teams Increasingly Aren’t
As the number of African-American baseball players continues to decline, black players are often surprised to find themselves in the minority even at historically black colleges.
37 More Former Ohio State Athletes Sue the University in Sexual Abuse Case
The lawsuit is the fourth of its kind filed against the university and the first since Ohio State released a report detailing how a former team doctor repeatedly assaulted males athletes.
Ohio State Finds Team Doctor Sexually Abused 177 Students
In a report, the university said the doctor, Richard Strauss, groped students and asked intimate questions about sexual practices under the guise of providing medical treatment.
Jim Jordan Claims Vindication, but Inquiry Says Talk of Abuse at Ohio State Was Rampant
An investigation into a team doctor’s sexual abuse found no hard evidence that coaches like Mr. Jordan knew, but it said dozens of other coaches acknowledged rumors of the doctor’s predatory behavior.
How Larry Nassar ‘Flourished Unafraid’ for So Long
A new HBO documentary explores the rise and fall of the disgraced Olympic doctor and the institutions that gave him access to girls.
For Me, He Was Willing to Face His Worst Fear
A college student on medical leave for compulsive behavior finds comfort in a kindred spirit.
The Impact of Early Sexual Initiation on Boys
A survey finds that most boys who had sex before age 13 had not yet had comprehensive sex education in school.
Is ‘Digital Addiction’ a Real Threat to Kids?
Think of screens as something to handle in moderation, like food, rather than something without any healthy place in our lives, like heroin, experts say.
Your Kids Think You’re Addicted to Your Phone
While parents are, of course, worried about their teenagers’ phone use, that concern goes both ways, a new study found.
When Social Media Is Really Problematic for Adolescents
Underlying problems may make some young people particularly vulnerable to what they find on social media, an expert says.
When a College Student Is Home for the Summer
Adding college students back into family life is rarely as simple as rebooting their high school days.
So You’re Back at Home for the Summer …
A survival guide for spending the summer at your parents’ house.
The Sun Is Also a Star’ Review: A Charming, if Generic, Adolescent Love Story
Yara Shahidi and Charles Melton play teenagers falling in love on a hectic, sunny day in New York.
Miss America, Miss Teen USA and Miss USA Are All Black Women for the First Time
Each contest has previously had black winners, but the simultaneous wins make for a powerful symbol of how the pageants are evolving.
‘Boy Swallows Universe’ Follows a Gritty Coming-of-Age in 1980s Australia
Trent Dalton used his own biography as inspiration for his debut novel.
On Being Young, Gay and Addicted in the 1970s
“The Light Years,” a memoir by the artist Chris Rush, evokes his troubled youth in a wealthy Catholic family in New Jersey and his search for acceptance in the mountains of the Southwest.
An American Pilot, a Muslim Teenager and a Talking Dog All Caught in an Absurd War
“Red Birds,” a new novel by the Pakistani author Mohammed Hanif, satirizes America’s never-ending military conflicts in the Middle East.
Secrets — and spirits — swirl through Michael Knight’s novel, “At Briarwood School for Girls.”
First Love and Other Investigations
In these Y.A. novels, teenagers search for answers to the mysteries of love and the puzzle of themselves.
In Luling, the “toughest town in Texas,” two Latina high school girls compete to be the next Watermelon Thump Queen.
All Things Must Pass. But the Prom, Somehow, Goes On.
Since the 1950s, prom photos have been bellwethers of a changing America. At one high school just outside New York City, the prom is still the main event.
James Charles, From ‘CoverBoy’ to Canceled
The 19-year-old internet personality and makeup artist has provoked the ire of beauty YouTube.
At 11, I Sat in Seat D8. Now I’m Onstage in ‘Beetlejuice.’
On opening night, an actor delivered a message of encouragement to an audience member — from his 11-year-old self.
Review: ‘Dear Evan Hansen,’ With a Real Teenage Evan
Now in its third year, this Broadway hit has grown up by aging down.
They Played With Dolls. Did That Make Them Playwrights?
Five writers on how childhood fun — and a way with scissors — shaped the adult sensibilities they’ve brought to “Mac Beth” and other stage works.
Inside the Elite World of National Spelling Bee Competitors
Shalini Shankar’s “Beeline” explores the stakes of these intense, “brain-sport” championships on Generation Z.
