Falwell and his lieutenants [had] introduced into every aspect of Liberty University life". Young wrote that when he eventually resigned, the school did not appoint a new student editor, opting instead to turn the newspaper "into a faculty-run, student-written organ and seizing complete control of its content."
Student journalists became so frustrated that they launched an independent newspaper, the Lynchburg Torch, to cover stories the administration tried to suppress. It operated from 2017 to 2019.
=== Speech and debate ===
Liberty's Inter-Collegiate policy debate program ranked first overall (i.e., combining the results at the varsity, junior varsity, and novice levels) for their division at the National Debate Tournament in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011. In varsity rankings, Liberty finished 20th in 2005, 17th in 2006, 24th in 2007, 12th in 2008, 9th in 2009, 4th in 2010, and 4th in 2011. In 2017, the team finished atop the final rankings of all three national debate tournaments for the eighth time, …
