asciidoc has been mentioned a few times in comments, i think it's worth looking at.
This is the problem I was afraid of: for every markup syntax under the sun, someone will come along to champion it.
The choice of one or N syntaxes is ultimately up to the discretion of the student, guided by their mentor. It is in our collective interest to avoid prolonging a bikeshed discussion on this, as a long inconclusive discussion risks dissuading any sensible student or mentor from wanting to pursue the project in the first place.