Youth Communi-
cation Publishes Out With It: Gay and Straight Teens Write About Homosexuality, stories collected from NYC and FCYU. The book includes a comprehensive teacher's guide.

The book is edited principally by Philip Kay, editor of NYC from 1990-1997.

DOCUMENTS: Al Desetta writes "The Personal Narrative: An Approach to Feature Writing." Using actual student drafts, Al shows in detail how several stories developed through many drafts.

Major NYC Stories: NYC publishes cover stories on Us & Them (how labels and categories divide teens), It's a She Thing, Getting Ready for College, and Graffiti.

Us & Them: This special supplement (Sept./Oct. 1995) discusses a wide range of differences (and perceived differences) confronting teens: taste in music, racial and ethnic differences, disabilities, gender roles, religion, shyness, and being a twin.

Objecting to How Teens Are Portrayed: In "Teen Mags Need a Makeover" (Nov. 1995), Lorrie Rothstein criticizes the shallow content of most teen-oriented publications.

Help With College: A comprehensive issue on college (Dec. 1995) includes articles about choosing the right school, completing the application, writing the personal essay, dorm life, studying for the SAT, visiting schools, and dealing with the stress and pressures of making the big decision.

Major FCYU Stories: FCYU features stories on Gov. George Pataki's plan to end New York State foster care for youth over 18 (it was defeated), instead of age 21. In other articles, writers explore the merits of group homes vs. foster homes, how foster youth can advocate for themselves, making the transition from foster care to college, date rape, depression, interracial adoption, favoritism in the foster home, and the elimination of the $500 discharge grant due to budget cuts.

Personal Reaction to a Public Tragedy: After six-year-old Elisa Izquierdo, a child known to the New York City child welfare system, is murdered by her mother, James Knight publishes the personal essay, "I Could Have Been Elisa" (Jan./Feb. 1996), which describes the severe abuse he suffered for years in his foster home, and makes recommendations on how it might be prevented.

On the Inside, Looking Out: Two FCYU stories during 95/96 highlight the magazine's role as a window onto the secretive and often dysfunctional foster care system. In "Who Will Speak for Lizzy?" (Nov./Dec. 1995), Danielle Joseph gives an eyewitness account of abuse she witnessed in her foster home. "Fifteen Months in Care-And Fifteen Placements!" (May/June 1996) is Youniqiue Symone's account of a short but turbulent journey through the system, and a reasoned analysis of why it's so chaotic.

Media Coverage: In his New York Times column, David Gonzalez praises the insight and eloquence of FCYU writers and the importance of their voices being heard by the system. In the New York Daily News, Pulitizer Prize winning columnist E.R. Shipp describes the writers in The Heart Knows Something Different as "wise beyond their years," and says the book "pierces the wall that shields city bureaucrats from scrutiny."