The ethics of academic research weren't idyllic, but they were the devil known. It was at least informally accepted that a student should have a fair chance of finishing their project. Cherry picking student projects and publishing them ahead of the student was considered unethical. I got my graduate degree under those conditions, as did my parents.

In math, proofs are "the coin of the realm," and could be devalued to zero. This leaves no answer as to how someone will earn a graduate degree. For instance, what kind of work will be accepted by a thesis committee in five years? The professoriat can only say "we will need to change some things." That's not good enough when the deadline for grad school applications is a few months away.