Tricky ethical situation in DeKalb. An NIU student jumped in front of a train and was killed Wednesday. Though not officially declared as such, it was pretty clearly a suicide. The Northern Star had the name late last night but decided not to use it in the story. The Daily Chronicle did use the name - presumably because this happened semi-publicly, just west of town, and because it hadn't been ruled a suicide yet.
My take on these types of things is, when in doubt, err on the side of not causing further pain to a hurting family. Unless a presumed suicide creates a major public spectacle, or involves someone well-known, I don't think printing the name is all that helpful. And if this week's case turns out to be something other than suicide, then printing the person's name in a follow-up story seems like a better approach.
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