[Life]
Music collectors and DJs prove vinyl is a lasting revolution
For some music lovers, that tiny mp3 player just won't do. "The purest form of music is on vinyl," said Nate Leblanc, an employee at Streetlight Records in San Jose. "I probably have about 4,000-5,000 pieces of vinyl. It's what keeps me going." The LP has survived the introduction of 8-tracks, audiocassettes and CDs. And it's still here despite the massive success of digital music and portable media players. MORE...

Teens' Looks Attract Unfair, Incorrect Stereotypes
Everyone has experienced being stereotyped. Whether it's because of how you dress, your nationality, or who your friends are, people are constantly making judgments about you before they get to know you. We assume "gangsters" wreak havoc, "white people" are rich and preppy, and that "rockers" are emo. This is how these young people spotted at Eastridge Mall say they experience stereotypes. MORE...

Nightclub Scene Is Not For Us
On a tour of the nightclub district in downtown San Jose, 20 Mosaic students were stalked by a drunk man. He followed us down many streets, wobbling unsteadily and asking us if we were in the stock market. Not only did we attract an old drunk man, but wherever we walked, wolf-whistles and dirty remarks came our way. Young girls wearing skimpy clothing flooded the streets, and perverted men took notice. MORE...

In The Bay They Get Hyphy Music, Culture Dominates Area Youth
Walk past the clubs on South First Street in downtown San Jose and loud music slaps you like a sharp wave. It's not just any type of music — it's hyphy. Five years ago, it would have been hard to believe that music which involves the use of ecstasy would be successful. Yet, hyphy is taking over, leaving some wondering what this new music genre entails, and how it affects the Bay Area's reputation. Hyphy started out full of energy and rapping. It is often played on radio stations, like Wild 94.9 and has become its own subculture. MORE...

If there's a will, there's a way out of gangs
Wearing Nike Cortez shoes, baggy pants, a black T-shirt and a sad expression, Juan Rivera recalls his time as a gang member in elementary school. He remembers being hit by gang members without retaliating to get "jumped in," or initiated. He also remembers getting stabbed with a screwdriver in fifth grade. By his freshman year in high school, he wanted out. "I felt bad that I made my mom go through all that, watching me in pain," said Juan, 16, a sophomore at Downtown College Preparatory, a charter high school in San Jose. "I left all that behind in the past." MORE...

Effects of divorce send teens shuttling between parents
Samantha Rodrigues, a sophomore at Evergreen Valley High School, arrives home from school on a Monday afternoon. She puts down her books, goes to her room and packs up everything she needs for the week. Then she waits for her mom to pick her up and take her to her other home a few minutes away. At her dad's house, Samantha shares a room with her younger sister, Diana, and has a pet turtle. At her mom's house, Samantha has her own room, as well as three dogs. She admits that while her room at her mom's house is always clean, her room at her dad's house is always messy. MORE...

Diversity thrives in garden
The little girl -- brown wavy hair, big green eyes, wide smile – dashes across the garden to pluck a flower from a bush. She spins around, spots her grandmother and giggles as she's playfully scolded in Bosnian. This is the Green Thumb Garden, a 1 1/2-acre spot where the cultures that comprise San Jose's rich diversity cross paths. MORE...

Muslim girls weigh personal decision to wear Islamic scarf
As a Muslim teen, Sabrin Said had been thinking about wearing a hijab, the head scarf worn by women of her faith, when she had an epiphany during fajr, or early-morning prayer. She felt an uneasy shiver all over her body and wanted eagerly to read the Koran. She had never felt such fear and took it as a sign that it was time. But the 16-year-old student at Gunderson High School in San Jose also thought about how she would be perceived by her peers and faculty. MORE...

Transgender youth finding it easier to live in their skin
A week after she turned 20, Danielle stood in front of her family to tell her secret. She braced herself, waiting for their negative response as she told them she was transgendered. To her surprise, that response never occurred. "I thought it would be a really big deal," says Danielle, of Santa Rosa, "but my family was just open about it, and they seemed like they were expecting it. When I came out, it seemed like everyone knew before me." MORE...

New Vintage Stores Cheaper Than Ever
The second I walked into a thrift store, I flipped out my list: A knitted fabric, atop a canary-yellow long-sleeved dress; a navy blue polyester flower print tunic the attached sash loosely tied to the waist; a bright, lipstick-red leather purse; an ancient Elton John vinyl record that hasn't been played for decades; and a first edition of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. MORE...