While we continue the debate here on whether the student newspaper was used to smear a dean, there's another situation at Baylor University.Tim Cavanaugh at Hit & Run considers these disturbing, while David Wallis wonders,

If colleges discourage young reporters from investigating powerful interests while in school, how can society expect them to probe political corruption once they graduate? When students cower rather than proclaim their opinions on campus, how can we expect them to stand up for what they believe off campus?

The issue is whether it's good to train future journalists in kowtowing to the publisher's self-interest. Certainly it is not a free speech issue, and whether it is academic freedom is one open to debate (just see the comments to Cavanaugh's post). But it is an honesty issue -- are we honest with students who work in student newspapers that they will receive the full training they need to prepare for work in the media?