About Rachel Troy

Age: 18

Stories by Rachel

	Practicing democracy gives kids more input By Rachel Troy, 15 Many teenagers are indifferent to the First Amendment. In a nationwide study of 100,000 high school students released early this year by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, about three-quarters of those surveyed said they either don't know how they feel about their First Amendment rights or they just take them for granted.
	New generation's gettin' into the swing By Rachel Troy, 16, Alesha Peterson, 16, Ariel Aisen, 15 If you stop by the Fountain Square Theatre every other Friday night, you'll find hordes of teens from Lebanon High and other area schools swinging, tapping and whirling to a bouncy beat more typical of Glenn Miller and Duke Ellington than YoungBloodZ. Today, swing dancing is popular in Indianapolis and nationwide -- for all age groups.
	Girls' roles as child soldiers By Rachel Troy, 17 In the middle of the night, Ida Aryamo hid in bushes outside the rebels’ camp, her 8-month-old baby clutched in her arms. It started raining and then stopped and then started again. After a long night, Ida and her son, Innocent, were rescued by a woman after they made it out to a nearby road.
	Children in combat By Cindy Mangan, 18, Rachel Troy, 17 "If you don't kill, yourself, you are killed." -- Jimmy Otim, a former child soldier in northern Uganda Around the world, about 250,000 boys and girls younger than 18 today are involved in violent conflicts. Many of them are abducted or join fighting forces out of desperation because of poverty, abuse or starvation. In at least 13 countries, including Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, u
	Kids see homework as life preparation By Andy Goldblatt, 16, Chris Reissaus, 16, Rachel Troy, 15 A ccording to a 2003 Brookings Institution study, homework loads for American students in kindergarten through 12th grade have not varied much in the past 50 years, with one exception: After the Soviets launched the Sputnik satellite in 1957, homework doubled. The study also noted that American children have one of the lowest homework loads in the world; most do less than an hour a day. Yet one of
	Steroids? Not around us, athletes claim By Kellie Moore, 15, Rachel Troy, 15 W hen former All-Star Jose Canseco used his book "Juiced" to go public on steroid use by professional baseball players, it not only embarrassed the sport, it cast suspicion over other athletes, even at the high school level. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in its 2000 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance survey that among high school seniors, 3.3 percent of females and 6.4 perc
	Teens examine theories on peace By Rachel Troy, 16, Robin Wetherill, 16, Izaak Hayes, 15, Zoe Hayes, 17 Defense strategist and author Thomas P.M. Barnett has a plan that he says will abolish global terrorism and lead the way to Middle East peace. It starts with becoming allies with Iran and making China and India happy. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Barnett has spent much of his career as a strategic planner dealing with national security issues. He has served as a strategic researcher and p
	10 commandments for college applications By Rachel Troy, 18 Thinking about applying to college? Here are 10 commandments from one high school senior.