Zykan V. Warsaw Case Study

The Zykan v. Warsaw Community School Corporation and Warsaw School Board of Trustees was a case regarding the limiting and prohibition of textbooks, removing books from the library and deleting courses from the curriculum. The case was disregarded by the district court, and was brought to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Ultimately, the court ruled that the school had a right to establish whatever curriculum that it wanted, but it was not allowed to restrict learning. The student’s right to file complaints was also recognized, but the claims must reach a level of intensity before entering the federal court. Similarly to the Zykan v. Warsaw case, the Tinker v. Des Moines case also violated the first amendment for students. The students'
The petitioners led, “a silent, passive expression of opinion, unaccompanied by any disorder or disturbance” (Source 1). It is important to note that while the, “armbands caused comments, warnings by other students, the poking of fun at them” (Source 2), there, “were no threats or acts of violence on school premises” (Source 1).. The raising of a new generation also plays an important part in the case. Schools are places where students are free to exchange ideas freely and gather information on how people perceive the world differently. Because schools are breeding grounds for ideas, and, “The Nation’s future depends upon leaders trained through wide exposure to that robust exchange of ideas which discovers truth” (Source 1), the new generation’s minds are being shaped by their young
While the freedom of speech is the most basic right of United States citizens, it can cause strong feelings to arise in those who disagree with the statements. The school authorities acted, “upon an urgent wish to avoid the controversy which might result from the expression, even by the silent symbol of armbands, of opposition to this Nation’s part in the conflagration in Vietnam” (Source 1). While there were clearly no acts of violence over the armbands, the school district decided that it was best to try to prevent any chance of disorder. It is important to know that symbols are allowed in schools, “as long as normal school functions are not “unreasonably” disrupted” (Source 2). It is said that, “a teacher… had his lesson period practically wrecked” (Source 2).While the First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, that does, “not mean that everyone with opinions or beliefs to express may address a group at any public place and any time” (Source 2). The US District Court in Des Moines believed that there was a proper time and place to state beliefs and opinions, and doing so in a school, “could disrupt learning” (Source 3). The black armbands worn by the students could cause violence to erupt and leaning to be