Teenagers

The Culture |
January 21, 2013

Five Texas Teens Doing Big Things

An Austin teen will be the first American to graduate from an elite ballet school in Russia this spring. She is just the latest in a string of Texas teens who have accomplished impressive things in the past few years.

By Doyin Oyeniyi

Politics & Policy |
February 1, 2010

This May Be the Worst Idea Ever

Finally, Rick Perry wants to do something about the dropout rate. He proposes to prohibit people of high school age from having a driver’s license if they drop out or aren’t progressing toward a degree. Current law requires that students be enrolled in high school in order to get a

By Paul Burka

True Crime |
February 1, 2006

A Kiss Before Dying

Forty-five years after Betty Williams was shot to death by the handsome football player she had been secretly seeing, her murder haunts her Odessa high school—literally.

By Pamela Colloff

Being Texan |
April 30, 2005

Strangers on a Train

There was something irresistibly romantic about the gutter punk’s description of stowing away in freight cars. No wonder I wanted to try it—even if, at 38, I probably should have thought to myself, “You’re too old for this.”

By John Spong

Feature |
February 1, 2003

Queen for a Day

At this year's Miss Texas Teen USA pageant, girls from big cities and small towns stuffed their bras, slicked Vaseline across their teeth, and prayed that their thighs were toned enough. Anything for the crown.

By Pamela Colloff

The Culture |
July 31, 2001

Queen of the Rodeo

For teenage girls in the Hill Country town of Llano, life can be short on glamour and excitement—except at the annual rodeo, when one of them gets a rhinestone tiara and a rare, thrilling moment of glory.

By Pamela Colloff

True Crime |
June 30, 1996

Poisoning Daddy

No one ever suspected a thing until she asked her best friend if she could keep a terrible secret: the bizarre story of teenager Marie Robards, the devoted daughter who murdered her father.

By Skip Hollandsworth

News & Politics |
March 1, 1992

The Jammin’ Judge

ERIC ANDELL, THE JUDGE OF A JUVENILE court in Houston, peered down from the bench at the small cluster of people before him. In the center stood a lean sixteen-year-old boy in blue jeans and a light-green jersey with a hood. He and a friend had stolen a car to

By Gregory Curtis

Health |
May 31, 1990

Can Kids On Drugs Be Saved?

Drug treatment seldom works: at many centers, greedy entrepreneurs prey on frightened parents and troubled kids. But one teenager’s parents decided to take one last, desperate step: they sent their son to the toughest program in Texas.

By Skip Hollandsworth

Music |
April 30, 1985

The Shaggy Club

In a mixed-up world, mixed-up kids need somebody who really understands. In Dallas that somebody is a punk DJ called Shaggy.

By David Seeley