Recently in Youth Category

An attorney for Neuqua Valley High School sophomore Alexander Nuxoll says the Alliance Defense Fund will appeal a judge's ruling that Indian Prairie School District 204 officials were correct in banning a student from wearing a T-shirt that says, "Be Happy, Not Gay."

What do you think of the controversy?

Friday's Sun features a story about Sandy Fink, who will talk at the 95th Street Library at 7 p.m. Tuesday about how she enrolled her son in a lockdown residential treatment program in a last-ditch bid to get help for his drug and alcohol abuse problems.

Recently, a "moment of silence" became mandatory in all public classrooms in the state of Illinois. The governor was against the new law but legislators overrode his veto. Meanwhile, school officials in both Naperville districts along with Plainfield have no problem with the quiet time where, as one lawmaker put it, kids can do anything, including "listen to the rustling of the leaves...or the chirping of the birds." Well, what about praying? Because that's where the critics come in with one advocacy group arguing that the law is nothing more than "meddling" with the separation of church and state as guaranteed by the Constitution. And, up in Waukegan, some educators are up in arms over what they see as a thinly-veiled attempt to bring prayer into the public schools. The questions are: Do the kids really need a moment of silence? Does the "bird-chirping" theory make any sense in this context? Or, are we really talking about prayer and not silence at all?

A trusted coach of young soccer players in Naperville is in jail on charges that he sexually abused two girls, and authorities say there may be additional victims.

Gustavo Nicosia, 36, of Oswego, was charged Tuesday with 14 felony counts, including five counts of criminal sexual assault, seven counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, and two counts of obstruction of justice.

The big story in Wednesday's paper is a report that says children in affluent communities like Naperville are particularly stressed. While kids everywhere can be stressed, the report identifies three factors specific to Naperville: “too much academic, sports and materialistic competition; over involvement in community/school activities and trying to live up to an image of ‘the perfect Naperville.’”