Question

In the Tinker v. Des Moines and Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier cases, how did the students' form of expression differ? Which topics were their acts of expression related to in each case?

Answer 1

Well, the students in the Tinker v. Des Moines case wore armbands to protest the US involvement in the Vietnam War. Their act of speech was related to their opposition to US involvement in the war, and they were using armbands as an effective way to express their political opinion. In Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, the students of a school newspaper wanted to publish an article about the effects of divorce on students, to raise awareness and engage with their classmates on an important social issue. The students in these two cases were both expressing their views in different ways, but both acts were related to social issues that were going on.

Answer 2

Tinker vs. Des Moines- This Supreme Court case dealt with first amendment freedom of speech of students. In this case, Tinker and her friends wore black armbands with the peace symbol. This was a means to protest the US involvement in the Vietnam War.

Hazelwood vs. Kuhlmeier- Even though this Supreme Court case dealt with the first amendment as well, the topic was different. The students in this case had there newspaper edited by the principal as it talked about subjects such as divorce and teen pregnancy.