Question

why does fortas call the wearing of armbands a symbolic act?
he means that the act has additional meaning beyond wearing an armband.
he means that students are protected under the first amendment if their armbands have religious or political symbols printed on them.
he means that students should not have to cover the writing on their clothing with black armbands.
the district court recognized that the wearing of an armband for the purpose of expressing certain views is the type of symbolic act that is within the free speech clause of the first amendment.
—justice abe fortas
tinker v. des moines
february 24, 1969

Explanation:

Symbolic acts convey meaning beyond the literal action. Here, wearing armbands is for expressing views (as per the text), so it has meaning beyond just wearing an armband. The second option is incorrect as the text doesn't focus on religious/political symbols protection under the First Amendment in that way. The third option is about covering writing which is not relevant to the symbolic act definition.

Answer:

He means that the act has additional meaning beyond wearing an armband.