#qualityinjournalism ?

"That young man, as far as I'm aware, did withdraw form the university, so he's no longer in this community," Jones said initially.

Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan. “Witness threatened after UAlbany bus incident was no longer a student; School says former student never registered this term.” Albany Times Union. March 1, 2016. http://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-local/article/Witness-threatened-after-UAlbany-bus-incident-was-6861347.php [bold emphasis added]

The argument, also being made my Mark Mishler, the Albany attorney for Agudio, is that the students can't testify at a campus hearing without the risk of incriminating themselves — and, obviously, getting thrown off campus isn't as worrisome as a criminal conviction.

Churchill, Chris. "'Lynching' claim adds fuel to UAlbany bus attack fire." Albany Times Union. March 9, 2016. http://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-local/article/Churchill-Lynching-claim-adds-fuel-to-UAlbany-6880953.php [bold emphasis added]

Does the TU still have editors? That would be news!

Both articles are behind a paywall. I don't begrudge newspapers paywalls; they might have been smart from the very beginning to have all of their content behind a paywall. However, seeing the TU seemingly trying to profiteer off a very public incident at the university for which their publisher is the President of the Board of Directors of the University at Albany Foundation gives one an icky feeling.

That first article in particular shouldn’t be one that the TU is using to try to gain new digital subscribers. The article, for those who've read it (as I have), naturally fails to mention the relationships that the TU and the TU's publisher has with UAlbany.

Aside from that, the story that "Will" had dropped out because of the threat that he actually was sent ("Hope the police get to you before I do.") is one that is still being spread online (perhaps offline as well). The fact that the article in which the TU reported that he was not a student is not available for free to most people might factor into why that story about him dropping out is still so persistent. (Some racists liking the narrative is probably also a factor.)

After the article was put online, another TU writer claimed that "Will" himself had lied about dropping out because he'd been sent a threat.

J.p. Lawrence ‏

@JpLawrence3

Student who "withdrew" in wake of bus incident was fibbing. #justiceforwill wasn't enrolled.

http://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-local/article/Witness-threatened-after-UAlbany-bus-incident-was-6861347.php

12:18 PM - 9 Mar 2016

https://twitter.com/JpLawrence3/status/707661854034829314 (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/6fuLsxwSS )

If there's proof for the claim that "Will" himself had lied, it's not in that tweet nor in the article, is it?

#justiceforwill for that matter does not seem to have been reported to be the Twitter account of "Will," aside from which it's not an account it's a hashtag seemingly used by people who knew he was threatened and apparently thought he left school (or consciously lied about him leaving school) because of the threat.

TU tweeter who "exposéd" in wake of bus incident was fibbing? #ethicsinjournalism ?

Which is not to defend the guy beyond that, indeed the concern is more about the ethics of journalists not so much him. Whether he saw the bus incident from on the bus or off, his Tweets about enjoying the fight were obnoxious.