Published March 2, 2006 in issue 0509 of the HooK.

By COURTENEY STUART and PHOTOS BY JEN FARIELLO [email protected]

What makes teens tick? Are too many tests making kids tubby? Is UVA's coal tower putting children at risk? The Hook's family issue tackles these questions, plus don't miss our local version of "Before they were stars."<

You may have seen them gather near "watering holes" and "places of material consumption." Forming what we might call "social clusters" or "human herds," they communicate using a mysterious dialect unintelligible to outsiders.

In speech replete with abbreviations, slang, and punctuated by high-pitched noises known as "giggles," they exchange information in a way almost entirely indecipherable to those of us whose "hip factor" has atrophied (and not been replaced).

Never trust anyone over 30?

Never mind that. In what we think of as a "spontaneous social experiment," the Hook asked local teens to share the secrets of their subculture. And as it turns out, we adults have nothing to fear.

Indeed, we have seen the teen, and he is us. Totally rad, dude.

Albemarle High School students Jessie Martin and Paige Rumfelt hang after school at Mario's Pizza

Hilary Walker

Name: Hilary Walker

Age: 14

School: 9th grade, Charlottesville High School

Favorite restaurant: Um... I like a lot of places, Christian's, that dumpling place on the Downtown Mall [Marco and Luca],

Best band: I like a lot of bands, too: Coldplay, U2, Relient K.

Transportation: My mom's car? I can't drive.

I live with: My fam! Dad, mom, brother, sister

Always in my backpack: I think my friend's sock is in there, and then there's my cell phone and maybe some Chapstick.

Hobbies: I love listening to music and playing my guitar. I go out with my friends a lot.

Hangout: I like hanging out on the Downtown Mall when it's not cold. I'm usually at other people's houses.

Best about Charlottesville: I love that Charlottesville is small, and the people here are awesome.

Worst about Charlottesville: I don't know-- I guess it can be kind of isolated sometimes.

Drives you crazy: Being stuck on Saturday with nothing to do. Ahhhhhh!

Biggest concern for teens: I definitely think communication is hard for people. A lot of times you're pressured to be someone you're not.

In 10 years I'll be... A movie star! No, I'll probably be married to an insanely rich, perfect man.

Emily Hornsby

Name: Emily Hornsby

Age: 14

School: 8th grade at Buford Middle School

Favorite restaurant: C'ville Coffee

Best band: I hate favorites. I always have too many answers. I like The Who, Franz Ferdinand, Death Cab, and my uncle [Bruce Hornsby]

Transportation: Seeing as I'm 14, I'm pretty much limited to my bike and my feet.

I live with: mi familia (mom, dad, two sisters, one brother)

Always in my backpack: I can tell you what's not always in my backpack: a pencil. I seem to lose about three a day.

Hobbies: Listening to music, instant messaging. I play lacrosse and field hockey. I like to snowboard when I get a chance, clog dancing-- no, just kidding.

Hangout: Downtown Mall, friends' houses, you know, clubs, bars (just kidding)

Best about Charlottesville: The people. It has a little of everything-- like a stew, I suppose-- or a melting pot.

Worst about Charlottesville: It's kind of small.

Drives you crazy: Kids, mostly boys, who watch Cartoon Network and try to be annoying.

Biggest concern for teens: um, drugs. That's probably what you want me to say.

In 10 years I'll be... famous. And if that doesn't work, I've always wanted to be a sponge diver.

Ross Bollinger

Name: Ross Bollinger

Age: 18

School: 12th grade at the Renaissance School

Favorite local restaurant: New York Grille (though I rarely am able to go)

Best band: The Unicorns

Transportation mode: Car

I live with: mom, dad, brother, sister

Always in my backpack: school books

Hobbies: Animating, playing music

Hangout: Around town

Best about Charlottesville: You know everyone.

Worst about Charlottesville: You know everyone.

Drives you crazy: That Zendik commune magazine

Biggest concern for teens: Crack!

In 10 years I'll be... An animator in New York, I hope.

Eleseea Granger

Name: Eleseea Granger

Age: 13

School: 7th grade at Burley Middle School

Favorite restaurant: Chik-Fil-A

Best band: Chris Brown

Transportation: Bus and walk

I live with: Mom and two younger brothers

Always in my backpack: Money and phone and lip gloss

Hobbies: Shopping, dancing, singing

Hangout: My cousin's house, the Downtown Mall

Best about Charlottesville: Boys

Worst about Charlottesville: School districts

Drives you crazy: Being told to go clean up my room

Biggest concern for teens: People in my face

In 10 years I'll be... living with Chris Brown

Chris Sanford

Name: Chris Sanford

Age: 16

School: 10th grade at Madison High School

Favorite restaurant: Miller's

Best band: Grateful Dead

Transportation mode: 240SX Nissan

I live with: Dad

Always in my backpack: Magazines

Hobbies: Carve and smoke

Hangout: Wherever people are

Best about Charlottesville: Hot girls

Worst about Charlottesville: Traffic

Drives you crazy: Sh**ty drivers

Biggest concern for teens: No answer

In 10 years I'll be... rich

Evan Long

Name: Evan Long

Age: 14

School: 8th grade at Buford Middle School

Favorite restaurant: Mudhouse

Best band: The Used

Transportation: Foot, parents, skateboard

I live with: Dad

Always in my backpack: A good book

Hobbies: Reading, skateboarding

Hangout: Downtown Mall

Best about Charlottesville: Everything is so close.

Worst about Charlottesville: violence

Drives you crazy: My older sister

Biggest concern for teens: Drugs/violence

In 10 years I'll be... in college

Lindsay Black

Name: Lindsay Black

Age: 14

School/grade: 9th grade home schooler. I use the Christa McAuliffe Academy online program.

Favorite restaurant: Lime Leaf

Best band: I like a lot of bands.

Transportation: My parents drive me around.

I live with: Parents, brother, three dogs

Always in my backpack: My iPod Nano

Hobbies: I spend most of my time figure skating. I skate around four hours every day. Otherwise, I love to shop!

Hangout: Ice rinks all over Virginia

Best about Charlottesville: It's not too big, yet not too small.

Worst about Charlottesville: I doesn't have most of my favorite stores.

Drives you crazy: Nothing

Biggest concern for Charlottesville teens: No answer

In 10 years I'll be... Hopefully, I'll be an Olympic champion!

Ari Berne

Name: Ari Berne

Age:16

School: 10th grade at Charlottesville High School

Favorite restaurant: Bodo's

Best band: The Beetnix

Transportation: A car

I live with: My parents and sister

Always in my backpack: My binder

Hobbies: Rap

Hangout: Brother's house and Music Resource Center

Best about Charlottesville: Downtown

Worst about Charlottesville: I don't have any complaints.

Drives you crazy: Music

Biggest concern for teens: Teens are influenced by media, and they're not open-minded at all. They try to be what they see on TV.

In 10 years I'll be... Hopefully I'll be working in the music industry, not for the glitz and glamour, but so I can afford to feed a family and do what I love.

Joseph Genest

Name: Joseph Genest

Age: 13

School: 8th grade at Burley Middle School

Favorite restaurant: It would have to be a tie between Mellow Mushroom, College Inn, and Lazy Parrot.

Best band: Local: a tie between Body for Karate and The Wave. National: too many to name, but currently I like a lot of classics and a lot of rock, and I've been getting into a lot of different types of music, like classical, rap, reggae, jazz, and blues.

Transportation: Walking, my skateboard, or mom's car

I live with: My parents and dog

Always in my backpack: Food

Hobbies: I'm starting snowboarding, skateboarding, music, videogames.

Hangout: Skatepark, MRC, the malls when I can afford them, and Wintergreen when I can afford that

Best about Charlottesville: A nice, safe, community

Worst about Charlottesville: It lacks inexpensive activities for teens.

Drives you crazy: Annoying things and people

Biggest concern for teens: idk [that's IM slang for "I Don't Know," for you fuddy-duddies] There aren't too many issues that I can think of. Charlottesville doesn't really have too many issues.

In 10 years I'll be... idk, hopefully doing something in music, and hopefully still Joseph

Danielle Purpura

Name: Danielle Purpura

Age: 16

School: 11th grade at the Renaissance School

Favorite restaurant: Bodo's and Sylvia's pizza

Best band: In Charlottesville Body for Karate, a and now my friend's band is Love Tentacle Drip Society

Transportation: car

I live with: Mom, stepdad, sister and grandparents

Always in my backpack: My license, hopefully

Hobbies: Singing, playing cello

Hangout: Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar, Music Resource Center

Best about Charlottesville: I like the music scene a lot.

Worst about Charlottesville: Traffic and parking

Drives you crazy: Mostly bad drivers

Biggest concern for teens: I don't really know of a specific problem for teenagers

In 10 years I'll be... singing opera and playing cello. Living abroad would be awesome.

Tierra Oliver

Name: Tierra Oliver

Age: 14

School: 9th grade at Charlottesville High School

Favorite restaurant: Wood Grill

Best band: Mary J. Blige

Transportation: sister or aunt's car

I live with: Mom and younger sister

Always in my backpack: books and lotion

Hobbies: dancing, singing and reading

Hangout: Fashion Square Mall

Best about Charlottesville: It has a low-cost studio where everyone can hang out.

Worst about Charlottesville: There's no where for teens to hangout at night and on weekends.

Drives you crazy: People talking at the same time.

Biggest concern for teens: gangs and drugs

In 10 years I'll be... still going to law school

You've come a long way, baby: A look back at locals

Today, the following people are paragons of success and poise-- leaders in our community, a talented musician, a renegade performance artist. But it hasn't always been easy. As the following pictures attest, sometimes "cool" takes a while to kick in...

Performance artist 'Stevie Jay'

"You want to know what it was like for me in those days? This is a case where a picture paints a thousand words," jokes Steven Savit.
PHOTO COURTESY STEVIE JAY SAVIT

FILE PHOTO BY JEN FARIELLO

County supervisors chair Dennis Rooker

"I loved sports and music and still

do," says Rooker, seen here at age 15 in 1965.
PHOTO COURTESY DENNIS ROOKER

Dennis Rooker
FILE PHOTO BY JEN FARIELLO

City Councilor Kendra Hamilton

"Here I am, cleaned up in ninth grade with my hair brushed and without my glasses."
PHOTO COURTESY KENDRA HAMILTON

Kendra Hamilton
FILE PHOTO BY JEN FARIELLO

City Councilor Rob Schilling

PHOTO COURTESY ROB SCHILLING

"The year was 1977. As you can tell from my deep tan, I really liked going to the beach. In fact, I had just returned from a family vacation to Hawaii when this picture was taken."
FILE PHOTO BY JEN FARIELLO

City Councilor Blake Caravati

"I soon realized that a bellhop career was not for me," says Caravati, seen here as a 17-year-old Lieutenant at Benedictine High School in Richmond.
PHOTO COURTESY BLAKE CARAVATI

FILE PHOTO BY JEN FARIELLO

Singer-songwriter Terri Allard

"I loved that cowl-neck sweater," recalls Allard of her 16-year-old self.
PHOTO COURTESY TERRI ALLARD

FILE PHOTO BY JEN FARIELLO

Does SOL = FAT? Where's the P.E.?

By the time they reach third grade, today's elementary school students have already faced a slew of state and federally mandated tests. Even kindergarten-- once a paradise of naptimes and crayons-- has been infected by the virus of academic expectations. And as the pressure for academic achievement has increased, so too has childhood obesity-- reaching what U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt called in a recent speech a "public health crisis."

In some school districts, the push for academic excellence has pushed down the time spent on recess and sports. But avoiding exercise can lead to a variety of physical ailments and make it harder to concentrate, according to data from the National Association of Sport and Physical Education.

"The ideal is to do half an hour every day," says Nancy Markos, physical education teacher at Albemarle's Broadus Wood elementary school. "We're giving them lots of academics," she adds. "You can't have children sit all day long."

The Association recommends 150 minutes of formal physical education per week for elementary school students (that time rises to 225 minutes per week for middle and high schoolers) or at least three class periods each week all year.

Last year, Albemarle County adopted a minimum physical education requirement of 120 minutes, down from 150 minutes in 1998, according to Markos. Several Albemarle County elementary schools offer P.E. four days a week in addition to 30 minutes of recess a day. But in the city, where the achievement gap is glaring and the pressure is on from all sides, physical education and recess get less attention than they do in the county.

According to Linda Bowen in the Charlottesville Schools' administrative office, the school board recommends just 90 minutes of P.E., and there is no written requirement. She points out that the system complies with the SOL requirements for P.E., which dictate the types of activities students should be learning, but not the amount of time.

According to Venable School principal Malcolm Jarrell (whose school tops the list of city schools for combined P.E. and recess time), it's not fair to expect the school to provide everything.

"We have a six-hour day," says Jarrell, "and if you expect everything that every student needs-- from nutrition to academics-- you can't cram all of that in that amount of time."

Here's how they stack up:

Charlottesville Elementary Schools

Venable:

P.E.: Three 30-minute periods a week

Recess: 30 minutes daily

Total: 240 minutes

Burnley-Moran:

P.E. Two 30-minute periods a week grades K-2; three 30-minute periods a week grades 3-4

Recess: 15 minutes

Total: 135 minutes K-2/165 minutes 3-4

Greenbriar:

P.E.: Two 30-minute periods per week

Recess: 20 minutes daily; second 15-minute recess for grades K-1 on non-P.E. days.

Total: 205 minutes K-1; 160 minutes for grades 2-4

Clarke:

P.E.: Two 45-minute periods a week

Recess: 20 minutes daily

Total: 190 minutes

Jackson Via:

P.E. Two 30-minute periods a week grades K-2

Recess: 15 minutes

Total: 135 minutes -

Johnson:

P.E. Two 30-minute classes a week

Recess: 15 minutes recess each day

Total: 135 minutes

Albemarle Elementary Schools (a sampling)

Agnor Hurt

PE: three 45-minute periods a week

Recess: 15 minutes daily

Total: 210 minutes

Baker Butler

P.E. Four 30-minute periods

Recess: Teacher's discretion

Total: varies

Broadus Wood

P.E.: Four 30 minute periods grades K-4; Five 30 minute periods grade 5

Recess: Teacher's discretion

Total: varies

Meriwether-Lewis

P.E.: Four 30-minute periods grades K-1; two 45-minute and one 30-minute period grades 2-5.

Recess: minimum of 15 minutes daily

Total: 195 minutes

Red Hill

P.E.: Five 30-minute periods a week

Recess: Daily, length at teacher's discretion

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