New York Times Upfront articles from February 2002

New York Times Upfront archives from February 2002

Raves, yes; Ecstasy, no. (letters).
February 11, 2002... Your article about Ecstasy use at raves (12/10/01) disturbed me greatly. Some drug dealer will read this and go to our events and push it. Some kid who doesn't care about our music or dancing reads that and then goes to a rave to find it. Most...

Censor wartime news. (letters).(Brief Article)
February 11, 2002... The government should be able to censor the media during wartime ("Censorship or National Security?" 12/10/01). With today's technology, everyone can see the news from halfway around the world. Reports in real time could give away the position...

Civil liberties vs. safety. (letters).
February 11, 2002... We agree with the need for increased government surveillance to prevent terrorism ("Arrested Liberties?" 11/12/01). This increased surveillance does not bother us, because we are not terrorists. What does bother us is that the government didn't...

Guns kill people. (letters).
February 11, 2002... I am responding to letter writers Chelsea Geimer and Christina Payne regarding the use of American weapons in the Middle East ("Why They Shouldn't Hate Us," 12/10/01). I agree that the U.S. is not killing Palestinian children. But I also...

It's no S-P-O-R-T! (letters).
February 11, 2002... I was in disbelief as I read "Is Cheerleading a Sport?" (11/26/01). I have played sports all my life--soccer, indoor soccer, swimming, basketball, softball, gymnastics, track, and tennis. Sometimes I play at high-intensity levels, and I even...

Old enough to drink? (letters).
February 11, 2002... I believe the drinking age should be reduced to 18 ("Trying to Dry Up Drinking," 12/10/01). If I can vote and die for this country in battle, why don't people believe I'm responsible enough to drink? MAXIMILIANO LUNA JR. Chicago, Ill.

Anthrax spreads to the SAT. (voices).(Brief Article)
February 11, 2002... LAKEWOOD, OHIO--Last October 13, I took the SAT for the second time. I wanted to boost my score by 20 points to reach 1300, the cutoff for most top colleges. After a good night's sleep and an excellent bagel breakfast, I entered the...

One giant leap for man, kind of. (Photo).(BASE jumping by Australia parachutist Felix Baumgartner)
February 11, 2002... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Australia parachutist Felix Baumgartner, known as "the craziest man in the world," makes a jump from a helicopter over Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He's a daredevil in the usually illegal sport of BASE jumping--in which...

The museum of racism. (International).(new Apartheid Museum, Johannesburg, South Africa)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2002... The experience of institutionalized racism begins right away at the new Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa. Visitors receive a card arbitrarily assigning them a racial classification: white or nonwhite. They enter through two...

Early decisions. (College).(Brief Article)
February 11, 2002... Applying early to college may increase your chances of getting in, but not everyone is excited. Yale wants to ditch the early-decision admission process. "It pushes the pressure of thinking about college back into the junior year of high...

Verdict: not disabled. (Upfront Update).(Supreme Court decision in carpal tunnel syndrome sufferer Ella Williams)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2002... If you can't do your job but you can brush your teeth, are you disabled? The Supreme Court, in effect, answered no in the case of Ella Williams, an assembly-line worker with carpal tunnel syndrome ("Making the Supreme Decision," 10/1/01)....

Virtually dead. (Circuits).(Brief Article)
February 11, 2002... An American stood deep in an Afghanistan cave complex. Aiming his rifle at a fleeing man in white robes, he fired--killing Osama bin Laden. That trigger man was no soldier but a 28-year-old Web developer in Winter Park, Fla., named Andrew...

Lots to love. (Science).(teen romance)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2002... Worried you won't find a date for Valentine's Day? Either way, love experts say you'll be OK. Research shows that being single has its advantages: You're less likely to be depressed, get in trouble at school, abuse alcohol, or get into...

The big slide: as the U.S. economy rolls downhill into a recession, many people are feeling the hurt in lost jobs and budget cutbacks. Will the good times return? (National).
February 11, 2002... The script Billy Tilson cooked up for his life read like this: graduate from college, fend off the job offers, choose the absolutely coolest job--then buy a wheelbarrow to carry the cash to the bank. But Tilson, 23, was laid off last year...

Going global: are poor nations getting a fair deal on free trade?(Brief Article)
February 11, 2002... The U.S. economy stumbles, and countries around the world feel the bump. In far-off India, schools that were teaching teens how to write HTML code or program in C-sharp began folding last summer. The reason? With U.S. high-tech companies...

let me sleep! The high school opening bell often rings before a teen's internal alarm clock does. Later start times prevent zombies in morning classes and may lead to student improvements. So why don't more schools shift their schedules? It's a matter of time, money, and grades. (National).
February 11, 2002... FOR LIZZIE ALLEN, THE DIFFERENCE HAS BEEN LIKE NIGHT and day--almost literally. Last school year, the first bell at her Arlington, Va., high school rang at 7:30 a.m. She had to wake around 6 a.m. and rush for her bus before the sun was up....

Ireland's troubles: Northern Ireland's historic 1998 Good Friday Agreement has planted the seeds of peace between Catholics and Protestants, but a recent wave of street violence threatens to roll back the clock. (International).
February 11, 2002... One morning last July, 19-year-old Ciaran Cummings was standing by the road in Antrim, Northern Ireland, waiting for his daily ride to work, when he became a statistic. Two Protestant men pulled up on a motorcycle and shot him dead, because...

Karzai's quest: the man & the plan: decimated by decades of war, Afghanistan finally has hope for a brighter future. The interim leader, Hamid Karzai, might be the one to chart a new path. (International).
February 11, 2002... December 22 was a big day for Afghanistan. Standing before a crowd of 2,000 supporters, 44-year-old Hamid Karzai, an Afghan tribal leader from a distinguished family, was sworn in as the country's interim leader. He became the first person...

Hockey's new ice age: three teen girls make a power play for the gold medal. (Sports).(Brief Article)
February 11, 2002... The puck ricocheted like a bullet into the bench and struck Julie Chu on the hip as she was leaning intently over the edge of the ice rink. She did not flinch. Instead, insulated by pads and a poise rare for a rookie, Chu turned to her...

The teen titans: here are three rising stars to watch in the more extreme Olympic events.(Brief Article)
February 11, 2002... Age: 18 Sport: snowboarding, halfpipe Snowboarding went mainstream with its 1998 Olympic debut, but Clark has kept her edge. She can explode out of the halfpipe, a half-cylinder tube dug into a ski slope, with difficult upside-down...

The Olympics of Terror: at the 1972 Games, Palestinian militants took Israeli athletes hostage, bringing terrorism to the world stage. (times past).
February 11, 2002... SNOWBOARDING TRICKS, FIGURE-SKATING GRACE, SKIING speed. At the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, the world hopes to come away with such snow-globe memories. Not masked terrorists, bound hostages, and carnage--the tragedy of the 1972...

Should we rebuild Afghanistan? Afghanistan has suffered through decades of war. Should the U.S. military now lead the way in its reconstruction? (Opinion).(opposing views)
February 11, 2002... YES With Al Qaeda and the Taliban largely defeated, the U.S. and its military must lead the rebuilding of Afghanistan in a way that convinces open-minded Muslims throughout the world that America is a force for good. In 23 years of...

Time should fit crime. (letters).
February 25, 2002... I think that for very serious crimes, such as murder, teenagers should be tried as adults ("Youth Crime... Adult Time," 1/21/02); a juvenile detention center is not enough. I also think that it is not right to put a teen in an adult prison for...

Drugs derail your future. (letters).
February 25, 2002... Ecstasy is a dangerous drug ("The Fight Against Ecstasy," 12/10/01). Teenagers need to realize that if they plan on going anywhere in the world or doing anything with their lives, drugs are not what they need. JESSICA COLE Auburn, Ala....

No to U.S. weapons sales. (letters).
February 25, 2002... I disagree with the view that Palestinians should not be angry with the U.S. because of its arms sales to Israel (Letters column, 12/10/01). The argument that the U.S. did not give orders to kill Palestinians is faulty. By that logic, the drug...

Time to help each other. (letters).
February 25, 2002... On September 11, the worst day in American history, I lost about 3,000 people. We all lost some of the world's most talented, loving, and dedicated people. Some were loving fathers, some were dedicated mothers, some were among the smartest,...

Boys and girls together. (letters).
February 25, 2002... If any guy has enough courage to get on a girl's hockey field in a skirt ("Boy vs. Girls," 10/10/01), then he can play any sport he wants, whether he plays with girls, guys, or gorillas! Your headline -- "Boy vs. Girls"--should be "Boy and...

Online survey. (upfrontmagazine.com).
February 25, 2002... Do New Year's resolutions really change people's lives? Here's how you voted on the question posed on UPFRONT ONLINE: NO 12,074 (61%) YES 7,822 (39%) Note: Table made from pie chart.

Not another fake teen movie. (voices).(stereotyping teenagers in the big screen)(Brief Article)
February 25, 2002... KNIFE RIVER, MINN.--The recent Not Another Teen Movie spoofs films aimed at teenagers like me. It mocks such hits as She's All That, Bring It On, and Can't Hardly Wait. The premise is clever, taking on rehashed plots and melodramatic love...

The suspects of war. (Photo).(Taliban and the Al Qaeda members; Cuba)(Brief Article)
February 25, 2002... U.S. military police guard members of the Taliban and the Al Qaeda terrorist network at Camp X-Ray, a U.S. prison camp in Cuba. The new arrivals, considered extremely dangerous, wear shackles, goggles, earmuffs, masks, and gloves as a "security...

Eager to learn and relearn. (International).(after the lunacy of the Taliban, Afghan women rush to catch up with education)(Brief Article)
February 25, 2002... Shafiqa Abdulwaquil stares at the division problem and thinks, hard. Math had once come easily to her, and this solution should have, too. But she was 12 when the Taliban banned girls from school. Now she is 17. Across Afghanistan, tens of...

Tuning out? (Music).(sales of music recordings dropping fast this year)(Brief Article)
February 25, 2002... The recording industry is hurting. Last year's music sales dropped 5 percent from 2000, according to Soundscan, the first decline in 10 years. While rockers Linkin Park had the top-selling album of 2001 (see list below), sales were well below...

Drug wonders. (Science).(Accutane, acne medicine)(Evaluation)
February 25, 2002... Is Accutane a miracle or a menace? The debate over the acne medicine's psychological effects made headlines when a Florida teen crashed his plane into an office tower last month. He had a prescription for Accutane, but it wasn't in his system...

No secret identities. (National).(attack on America, 2001; aftermath)(Brief Article)
February 25, 2002... Your driver's license could one day serve as a national ID card. Among new ideas to hinder terrorists, several states are considering modifying licenses to make them more uniform and harder to get. The American Association of Motor Vehicle...

House of Oz. (TV).(Meet The Osbournes, television show by MTV)(Brief Article)
February 25, 2002... Sure, British rocker Ozzy Osbourne has bitten the heads off bats and been called satanic. But now he has other problems. His 17-year-old daughter just got a tattoo. His 16-year-old son is being picked on at school. His neighbors keep him...

What can I say? In this time of war, high school students are facing ever-stricter limits on their First Amendment rights, especially if their opinions aren't patriotic. (National).
February 25, 2002... IN ANDREWS, TEX., THERE'S PROBABLY NEVER A GOOD TIME for a writer in the high school newspaper to describe President George W. Bush as a "buffoon." Andrews is in West Texas, about as conservative a patch of territory as you can find in the...

Expression vs. Disruption. (National).(Brief Article)
February 25, 2002... John Tinker, 15, had had enough. In December 1965, he and other teens in Des Moines, Iowa, decided to take a stand against the war in Vietnam, a war many Americans then supported. Their protest was simple: They wore black armbands to school....

The online loophole. (National).(high school students relying more and more in the net for info)(Brief Article)
February 25, 2002... For more than a decade, the rights of students working for school newspapers could be summed up in a word: Hazelwood. That's shorthand for Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, a 1988 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gave school...

Flashpoint Kashmir: a mountain territory takes center stage as India and Pakistan, both armed with nuclear weapons, move dangerously close to war. (International).
February 25, 2002... One night last month, a 28-year-old farmer answered a knock at the door of his mud house land was gunned down. Another evening, just after sunset, six members of a family, including a 6-month-old baby, were slaughtered. A teenager was set on...

Rap's fighting words: rival stars Jay-Z and Nas revive the art of the hip-hop dis in an old-school feud that just may be about fun and profit. (arts).
February 25, 2002... "We're gonna keep it in the truest essence of hip-hop: the battle," said Jay-Z, the lanky rapper, during a recent MTV Unplugged concert. Then he launched into "Takeover," his scathing lyrical assault on fellow rapper Nas. "That's why your...

Justice delayed: four black girls died in a 1963 bombing in racially divided Birmingham. Now the last suspect is about to go on trial. (times past).(war on hate)
February 25, 2002... Addie Mae Collins, 14, and her two sisters tossed Addie's purse around as they headed to Sunday school at the 16th Street Baptist Church, in the black part of Birmingham, Ala. Addie headed to the basement of the church, where she freshened up...

Ground Zero: a place for remembrance, or for gawkers? Thousands died there, and many more still mourn. Should the World Trade Center site be open to the public? (opinion).
February 25, 2002... YES When I visited New York City for a swim meet in December, six teammates and I got the chance to visit the World Trade Center site. No words can fully describe the intensity of what I felt being there. I had watched the horrible...

Drawing on the news.(Brief Article)
February 25, 2002... Jeff Danziger Tribune Media Services WELL, YES, GENTLEMEN... YOU CAN HAVE A WAR WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS... BUT THE ONE AFTER THAT WILL BE WITH STICKS AND STONES... David Horsey Seattle Post-Intelligencer / Tribune Media Services...

Graph exercise: Kashmir dispute fuels India-Pakistan arms race.(Brief Article)
February 25, 2002... Kashmir, a Utah-sized state of the former British India, has been the focus of fighting between India and Pakistan since mostly Muslim Pakistan split from mostly Hindu India in 1947. The two have fought three times, twice over Kashmir, which...

Quiz 1.(Brief Article)
February 25, 2002... Use with NATIONAL, pages 8-13 FILL IN THE BLANK/MULTIPLE CHOICE 1. Student journalist Lane Haygood found himself in big trouble not only because he used harsh words to criticize President Bush, but also because he wrote that he might...

Quiz 2.(Brief Article)
February 25, 2002... Use with INTERNATIONAL, pages 14-17. FILL IN THE BLANK/MULTIPLE CHOICE 1. Since India and Pakistan achieved independence from Britain in 1947, the two countries have gone to war over Kashmir -- times. 2. The current crisis between...

Quiz 3.(Brief Article)
February 25, 2002... Use with History, pages 20-21. Short answer. 1. Identify any of the games that Birmingham city laws segregated by race in 1963. -- 2. What tactic did civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. employ to call attention to racial...