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Many aspects of today's society have been affected by ancient Rome . Creation of law, development of democratic government practices, influences in language, literature, art, infrastructure, and city-planning are all areas where the influences of Roman ideas can be seen.
They were different, because in Thinker's case it was ruled in the favor of the students. They had the freedom to publish whatever they wanted, as long as it was not disruptive . In Hazelwood's case it was ruled in favor of the school, because the educators had a power to decide what could be published in student's newspaper.
Generally speaking, a civilization whose impact can be felt on history for a very long time can be called a "lasting civilization", since the things they put into effect have "lasted" throughout the years.