While youth of all backgrounds are victims of violence, black youth seem to be at the epicenter of Indianapolis's rising crime rate. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list homicide as the leading cause of death for blacks nationwide from ages 10 to 24. Indiana had the third-highest rate of black homicides among all states in 2006, according to a study by the Violence Policy Center, a

The influence of rap music is everywhere, from Grammy winners OutKast and Beyonce to Baby Phat and Sean John clothing brands. Search for "rap music" on Google, and you'll get more than 550,000 hits. But can rap's influence extend to an individual's character and decisions, as one study suggests? Teens at the Indianapolis Juvenile Correctional Facility say "no." Most of the girls listen to rap dail

Parents and concerned adults have long worried about rap music's effects on children, with its sexual and sometimes violent imagery and lyrics. Now, one study of teen girls has linked large amounts of rap video viewing to risky or violent behavior. Last year, researchers from Emory University in Atlanta and the University of Alabama at Birmingham reported on a study involving 522 black females enr

"My name is Darrell Ford. I'm 16 years old. Up until last April, I was a student at Lawrence Central High School. I was expelled late April, and after an arduous battle to get my credits so I could in fact become a junior, I went to the Indiana Academy, where I am now." In the aftermath of the shootings at Columbine High School, school administrators worked to prevent a similar incident. In the pr

Timothy, 18, describes how guns and greed put him in the Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility. Originally from Elkhart, he was paroled on Dec. 30 and now lives in Marshall County: "When I was like 5, I was woken up by someone banging on my door, and I answered the door, and it was a black guy (who) used to live next door to me, and he was shot in the chest and in his back. He wanted me to call

From violent video games and R-rated movies to Jerry Springer TV shows and inappropriate rap lyrics, adults often point to the negative influences of the media on kids. But what do kids think about the influence of media on their lives? Y-Press spoke with 10 Girl Scouts, some of whom recently completed badges dealing with the media, about this subject. They are Brandy Bledsoe, 15; Myra Bledsoe, 16

Over the course of a year, more children and teens die from gunfire than from cancer, pneumonia, influenza, asthma, and HIV/AIDS combined, according to the Children's Defense Fund. In 2000, 3,042 youths ages 19 and younger were killed by firearms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Y-Press went to the Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility to talk to four teens about th