In Rancho Santa Fe a vacant home in the 18000 block of Avenida Alondra was targeted. The $5 million – 10,000 square foot mansion was host to nearly 400 teenagers. Deputies found drugs, alcohol and a live DJ.

Apparently, kids are still throwing parties in big houses meant for adults, except now they've found some that don't come with any furniture, antique photographs, or shampoo bottles to do anything to. Back in my day, we stuck to abandoned, carpetless, auto factories — and hotels that used to host visitors to said auto factories. The youth of today have it too easy, is what I'm saying. [via]

Beginning with exams taken in September, students will have to submit a photo of themselves when they apply for a test. That photo will be printed on the student's test admission ticket and the roster provided to proctors at testing sites. Testing staff will compare the submitted photo to a photo ID and to the student in person at the testing site.

New security measures were announced today that should make a very particular variety of cheating on the SAT and ACT a lot tougher: paying someone to take the test for you. They'll also no longer allow you (or the person you're paying) to drop in for [...]

In the four illustrated graphs for this piece on how teenagers today aren't smoking, drinking, or having sex, one graph is not like the others.

"Over the years, researchers have found that weight gain and moderate to severe acne — a problem that affects about one in five teenagers — go hand in hand, particularly among young women."

I'm about to turn 18 and want to get a tattoo of some writing on my shoulder. Should I?

[Timely!] Well, probably not, although there's no right answer. (But: don't do it!) I got a text-based tattoo when I was 18 (family name thing), and I don't … regret it, exactly, but it's not the prettiest thing in the world or the best decision I ever made. Fortunately it's small and far enough away from my eyes that I rarely have to look at it or how pathetically blurry and disgusting it's become, and I'm still kind of amused that I got a tattoo when I was 18 [...]

LA Weekly's new advice column is about 20 years too late, but better(?) late than never: Ask a Teen Raver.

“Oh my God, I can't watch,” says Tim, covering his face with his hands.

“Are you ready?” Derek asks from behind me.

I squeeze my hands into fists, nails digging into my palms. My heart is pounding, but when I speak, my voice is low and controlled. “Do it.”

I am fifteen years old, standing in the hall outside my math classroom, and my hair is straight and soft and — for this last glorious moment — comes down to my hips. Having long hair is central to my identity, the way that a hairstyle can only really be in adolescence. It's the one thing that, despite my [...]

This delightful monstrosity is apparently "one of PromGirl.com's best-selling dresses this year," according to the Wall Street Journal. It costs $378, and it's also on some high schools' "Unacceptable Prom Dresses" lists. (Here are three such lists.) And here's PromGirl.com itself — the dress pictured is from their seemingly endless "Sexy and Sleek" collection. (I like this elegant one. This one is good, too.)

I have no idea how I ended up in possession of the soundtrack to the TV show Friends. I was never a particular fan of the series, nor was I passionate about any of the artists featured on the disc. The best I can figure is that it either came from a well-meaning relative wanting to appeal to my hip, teenage sensibilities, or I had found it in the bargain bin at the local record store, and couldn’t resist a seemingly good deal. Truth be told, if the latter were the case, it was a pretty good deal. I actually enjoyed the album. Lou Reed, KD Lang, R.E.M., Grant [...]

"A new study from Queen’s University has found obese teenage girls are three times more likely to be bullies than the slimmer girls in their class — a finding that highlights the very cyclical nature of bullying."