Plagiarism Plagues Both The Culprit and The Community
By Aditya Rajagopalan ‘09
News Staff Reporter
Despite countless stories of college cheating scandals scattered throughout the news, students at Choate often see cheating only as something that affects the individual, and not the community. We’re taught that cheating and plagiarizing is dishonest and immoral, but beyond that, kids often only think about academic dishonestly in terms of its consequences—possibly suspension, or a score of zero on a test. But as stories of cheating at the Air Force Academy, Ohio University, and other universities pop up, we see that this impression of academic dishonesty is really only half the story.
For example, several Ohio State numerous athletes have been accused of cheating while in the school; however, the integrity of the individuals who plagiarized is not the only thing scrutinized. The identity of a school and its education also become tarnished. If a school develops a history of plagiarism, employers may be hesitant to hire graduates of that school for fear that the student may have cheated at one point or another; other institutions may become skeptical as to whether a student’s grades were earned honestly, and therefore will feel less inclined to award fellowships and scholarships to graduates of that school. Plagiarism devalues a school’s diplomas. And even if only a few individuals plagiarize or cheat, the integrity of every student at that school becomes mistrusted.
Once we see that the cheating of a few, regardless of who they are on campus, brings into question our own diplomas and degrees, we will understand that cheating is not only a problem for the JC or the teacher who notices the plagiarism, or even the person who has to deal with the consequences of being caught. Plagiarism truly affects everyone.
Take for example the famous 1951 cheating scandal in the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Numerous students, under the pressures of one of the hardest schools in the nation (academically and otherwise), succumbed to a cheating pool—a deal that involved students lending test answers to a ring, where the information would then be distributed amongst others and consequently misused. The system had been in place for years, and was recognized as central for the survival for the school football team—the best in the nation. But when football player George Holbrook released to the Honor Committee the names of those who had cheated, the school experienced much turmoil. The scandal resulted in the dismissal of ninety cadets from the school, thirty-seven of those dismissed being members of the football team. Afterwards, a large degree of skepticism surrounded even the innocent the graduates of the school. The scandal also drove thousands of potential athletes away from West Point, destroying a football program that had once dominated its division. But most importantly, the scandal put a black mark on the school which has not been erased even today, over fifty years after the expulsion of the plagiarizers.
So when you consider copying the essay from Sparknotes or the science lab that your roommate has finished; when you even think of sneaking a peek at your classmate’s test, think of this: cheating doesn’t simply equate to an illegitimate grade, and a possible bout with the administration if caught. Plagiarism brings into question the validity of the entire school: the hours spent studying for exams, the lessons that teachers put hours into preparing, and most of all, the hard work of our peers, our friends, and ourselves.
