The responses are almost entirely bullshit. The students want to earn the maximum amount of credit for their responses; the maximum amount of credit is small compared to the exams; they're uncertain about how their comments will be evaluated; and the context of the blog doesn't encourage them to put much thought into them. Less Wrong is presented as a homework reading and is therefore authoritative. Thinking critically about the material on Less Wrong would require too much time and effort for such a trivial assignment, and comes with the risk of falling out of favor with an instructor who might not like critical thinking.
College is weird.
Most students will just jump through the hoop the way they've been trained. But a few will actually think about it seriously, whether they agree or disagree with what they find. I predict we'll get at least two LW participants who acknowledge finding the site through the course.
Link.
Given the positive reactions, I think the professor seeded them with a positive impression of the site's content.