But some wrote in defense of the editors at The Daily.

“I’m more shocked at how angry folks seem to be, because while I wouldn’t have made that choice, I don’t think it’s wild to think about how reporting can impact the people we write about and how to mitigate it,” Tracie Hunte, a reporter for “Radiolab,” the documentary podcast from WNYC, wrote in a tweet on Monday. “They’re trying something and maybe it didn’t work! It’s fine!”

“One of only black students in history to hold his position,” Wesley Lowery, a journalist with The Washington Post, wrote on Twitter on Tuesday, referring to Mr. Closson. “Student journalist who makes incorrect decision based on sincere desire to not harm marginalized campus group is publicly decried by industry’s most powerful (white) journalists. Definitely a lesson to be learned here!”

On Monday, Mr. Closson addressed the criticism. In a series of tweets, he said he appreciated people’s worries and added: “We aren’t unclear about our rights as a newspaper to cover student protest, but also understand the need to do so with empathy.”

Mr. Closson noted that he was navigating his role as one of only a few black editors in chief in The Daily’s more than 135 years.

“Being in this role and balancing our coverage and the role of this paper on campus with my racial identity — and knowing how our paper has historically failed students of color, and particularly black students, has been incredibly challenging to navigate,” he wro te.

“And our statement and the areas it fell short were largely a result of that — of how challenging it can be for marginalized students to navigate situations like those this past week while balancing our identities, roles as student journalists and positions as students at NU.”