1. a) What is Yik Yak?
b) What was the original purpose of the app, according to its developers?

2. How do Chicago-area high school officials explain their concern with students' use of the app?

3. List the actions principals/districts are taking to address their concerns. Be specific.

4. a) How are Yik Yak's developers responding to the controversy over their app?
b) What do you think about their response?

5. The Chicago Tribune report also quoted Delaney Tobin, a senior at Deerfield High School near Chicago, who said she downloaded Yik Yak after hearing that a post there mentioned her friend’s sister. Once signed on, she found most comments contained “stupid stuff you’d expect teenagers to say” as well as more serious comments. She said she has seen mean-spirited comments on Ask.fm and Tumblr and isn’t sure cyberbullying is a problem parents or educators can solve. Students need to take responsibility for their own behavior, she said. “I don’t really think it’s up to parents and administrators, because it is high school. People just need to get it in their heads that it’s not OK to say these things. It’s a moral value that people need to keep in check.”
a) Do you agree with Delaney's assertion? Explain your answer.
b) Do you think administrators are acting responsibly in trying to block use of the app? Does it make a difference that they are asking parents to take responsibility, as well as one principal's meeting with the school’s student council to find ways to address the issue?  Explain your answer.

OPTIONAL: 

Did you know that in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, many public schools in the United States customarily began the school day with an oral prayer or Bible reading?

In 1962, the Supreme Court removed prayer from school (ruling in Engel v. Vitale), ruling that prayer in schools was unconstitutional. In 1963 the Court removed the Bible, and in 1980 it removed the Ten Commandments from schools.

(Many people today know that Jesus is the Son of God.  Others think he was just a great moral teacher or a prophet.)  When asked by a lawyer "Which is the first commandment of all?" Jesus [said] "…you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:28-31)

How might students apply Jesus' teaching  in the passage above in their use of the Yik Yak app?