Leave it to a student-run newspaper to spark some controversy.

No, I’m not talking about The Daily Orange. This time it’s another paper halfway across the country: The Daily Illini, the University of Illinois’ student paper.

On Feb. 9, The D.I. reprinted the controversial cartoons of the Muslim prophet Muhammad that have caused massive protests in Arab nations throughout the past few weeks. The UI campus exploded, and The D.I.’s editor in chief, Acton Gorton, and opinion editor were suspended from the paper.

On Feb. 13, The Northern Star, the student paper at North Illinois University, ran the same cartoons, and has received mostly positive feedback, even from the local Muslim community, said Derek Wright, the paper’s editor in chief.

So what’s the difference?

Gorton and the opinion editor decided to abuse their positions on the paper and ran the cartoons without putting them into proper context for their readers. Wright and his staff ran the cartoons with a front-page editorial written by Wright himself, a column by the president of the school’s Muslim Student Association, a news article with local reaction to the cartoons and a man-on-the-street student opinion piece with photos.

And now Gorton wants to cry ‘free speech.’ Well, pat yourself on the back, Gorton – you’re right. There is no reason why you shouldn’t be allowed to run the cartoons. The First Amendment protects such forms of speech, even if it is offensive. But as a leader in your local media, you still have the responsibility to put something like this in perspective for readers.

In an interview, Gorton said he and his opinion editor had plans to focus on other people’s opinions in the days after the cartoons were to run. That’s too little, too late. Gorton also said ‘space constraints’ in the paper wouldn’t allow any other material on the issue to be printed on the first day. That’s just a lame excuse. Gorton said he and the opinion editor did not discuss the cartoons with any other editor on The D.I. staff before they ran. That’s irresponsible.

Take a page out of The Northern Star’s book, Mr. Gorton. Wright and the other editors there had a plan. They had the cartoons and opinion pieces laid out in the paper days before the scheduled publication. They were prepared. They were responsible. They wanted to continue the dialogue, not create uproar. They succeeded.

‘It wasn’t about free speech,’ Wright said. ‘We just thought it needed to be done.’

The D.I. incident also brings about a larger issue for campus media. Does reprinting controversial material only perpetuate conflict, or does it enhance the discussion? If done correctly, the latter is the answer.

In a letter that appeared in The D.O. on Wednesday, it was mentioned that The D.O. made the same mistake as its Illinois counterpart by running quotes and screenshots from HillTV’s ‘Over the Hill’ last semester. To use the old clich, that’s comparing apples to oranges.

I’m pretty sure that ‘Over the Hill,’ did not cause a few dozen deaths. Instead, it caused a healthy debate on campus. It caused our community to look at itself and realize racism still exists. Don’t confuse this intelligent debate with that silly knee-jerk reaction from the chancellor.

This kind of thing has happened before, and it will probably happen again, even in The D.O. The only thing we can do is hope that those in charge of the media act responsibly.