Whatever you decide, make your expectations clear to your students. The course must be structured so that students find the reading necessary to understand the lectures and participate in discussions. Construct, for instance, writing assignments that force students to be engaged with the text. If students develop their own paper topics demand that those topics be approved in advance. Students often develop paper topics that do not force them to deal with the details of the readings Make it clear to students that on exams they will be responsible for all assigned readings, even if each reading is not fully discussed in class.
Students often believe that they are only responsible for what is discussed in class.
They often justify not doing the reading on these grounds, thinking that if they come to class they will be told all they need to know. Decide if you want to give quizzes to insure students have read. If so, include this information in the syllabus. It's cumbersome to constantly grade these things. Students are often insulted by the practice.