About Laurann Brown

Stories by Laurann

	Quarter-midgets a good start for young racers By Davide Maus, 16, Michelle Brackney, 17, Laurann Brown, 16 It's a Saturday morning in October. Most kids are probably sleeping or watching cartoons. Some, however, are spending their time in cars -- as the drivers. Their parents not only have given them permission to drive, but watch and cheer as well. No, they're not breaking the law -- they're racing quarter-midget cars. Y-Press recently interviewed six area drivers about their sport. Ross Walker, 8, Ry
	Hands-on lesson in appreciation By Laurann Brown, 15, Megan Minkner, 14 Sign language -- it's been around for almost 400 years and still is used today by deaf people around the world. It also is being studied by hearing people. Whether their interest is learning a new way to communicate or simply to gain high school credits, many hearing students are taking sign language classes each year. Sandra Delph is a free-lance sign language interpreter who also teaches America
	Interpreter for deaf finds work fulfilling By Laurann Brown, 15, Megan Minkner, 14 Sandra Delph's job requires her to be on call 24 hours a day and to drive more than 40,000 miles a year. But she loves it. "The best part is the feeling of public service, I think, and caring about people and being able to interact with them," she said. Delph is a sign language interpreter for the deaf. She's been signing for 17 years but became a full-time interpreter four years ago. She was insp
	Singing here, there, everywhere By Laurann Brown, 15, Stephanie Hull, 14, Alicia Strong, 13 They practice so much that they often have to give up outside activities. Their coaches are demanding and expect a lot out of them. They perform under hot lights for audiences who sit comfortably in air conditioning. And they love it. They are members of the Indianapolis Children's Choir, whose goal is "to provide quality music instruction while attaining the highest level of artistic excellence i
	Group helps children cope with divorce By Morgan McMillan, 15, Jenna Smith, 15, Laurann Brown, 18 In school, children are sometimes asked to draw pictures of their families. At Children of Divorce therapy sessions, kids are often asked to do the same thing. The drawings give the therapist an inside view of how the divorce is affecting them. "We had a family with two boys, and we had them draw pictures. . . . It just broke my heart," said Linda Emmert, director of the program based in Columbus,
	Prosecutor backs programs to cut juvenile crime By Laurann Brown, 18, Chad Dyar, 14 "Criminals have a choice -- victims don't." This slogan was the dominant theme of Carl Brizzi's successful campaign for Marion County prosecutor last year. Y-Press interviewed Brizzi late last year and again recently to see how these few words are being put into action. "As simple as those words are to say, it really means a lot more in terms of how the office is actually run," Brizzi said in Dece
	Group helped girl accept parents' split By Jenna Smith, 15, Morgan McMillan, 15, Laurann Brown, 18 Almost everyone knows someone who's been directly affected by divorce. In 2000, there were almost 6.4 million divorced or separated parents in the United States, according to the census. A divorce is hard on the whole family, but especially on children. Y-Press recently talked with a 15-year-old girl whose parents are divorced. To protect her privacy, she will be called Elizabeth. She is one of th
	3 Indian teens face challenge of saving heritage By Laurann Brown, 17, Mackenzie Flynn, 18, Stephen Bush, 15 Atlanta Braves. Jeep Cherokee. Indianapolis Indians. Tippecanoe County. Florida Seminoles. When you hear these names in everyday speech, do you think about the connection they have to American Indian culture? Though references to their heritage are widespread, American Indians must work to preserve their history. Recently Y-Press talked with George Kanesta, 15, and Angel Boone, 17, from the Zuni r
	Students find living abroad memorable By Laurann Brown, 18, Lauren Maus, 14 "I ran into the stereotype in Europe a lot that Americans never took the time to learn anything else (besides English). And I think it's nice to be able to sort of break through that stereotype," said Amy Laburda, 17. Last summer, Amy spent seven weeks abroad with the Indiana University Honors Program in Foreign Languages. Since 1962, the program has sent about 120 students every summer to foreign