Republicans in Berkeley?

Friday's Wall Street Journal (paid subscription) included a front-page story about the rise in conservatism on one of the nation's most liberal college campuses.

The growth of the Berkeley College Republicans at one of the nation's most liberal campuses echoes some broader political trends. At Berkeley, while leftist students still dominate and outnumber conservatives, the liberal groups have splintered and are now spread across factions from the Cal Democrats to the International Socialist Organization to groups formed to oppose the war in Iraq. At the same time, several faculty members say, there are more conservative-leaning students than in the past, propelled by swells of patriotic feeling after events like Sept. 11 and an increase in the number of religious student groups.

While this is all very encouraging, should it really be front-page news that astute, rational thinking is taking place on a college campus?