The Mobile Register opines on the dispute between the University of Alabama and the Alabama Scholars Association over distribution of ASA's newsletter the Alabama Observer.

"But why does the university fear unrestricted dialogue? Are administrators scared of the power of ideas? It appears so. The UA administrators banned the Observer after it published data that shows what appears to be gross grade inflation in some academic departments. According to the Scholars Association analysis, the women's studies department gave A's to nearly 80 percent of the freshmen and sophomores who took its courses last year. That's an amazing achievement considering that only 11 percent of the freshmen and sophomores who took biology classes made A's. This year, the administrators refused to give the organization access to the data, lamely claiming they don't have the funding to push a button on a computer to compile it. That's ridiculous. "

See ASA's website fmi.