Despite Strict Policies, Some Unauthorized Aid Remains Overlooked
By Max Mullen ‘08
News Associate Editor
The honor code is the basic foundation upon which decisions are made in daily life at Choate. Thus, the honor pledge is a daily affirmation of the principle that each student’s work is his or her own, and a reminder of one’s commitment to integrity at Choate. It is common knowledge that unauthorized aid spawns from a variety of places. While the more obvious violations are plagiarism and cheating, the use of online translators and access to online study guides are considered illicit too. Despite these clear prohibitions, many contend that students continue to use such aids, like SparkNotes and Freetranslation.com, every day.
After the elimination of access to books and internet sites such as Sparknotes.com and Cliffnotes.com, Cyrus Cook, the English Department head explained, “The school was frustrated by increased cases of academic dishonesty,” and that, “for the first time since I arrived here there has not been a case of plagiarism heard on the J.C. for a year.” Still, one student observed, “Technology is always improving, and even though [teachers] feel they have stopped plagiarism, it continues under the radar.”
Although noting that no specific incidents have recently occurred, Cook said, “I am not naive, I do know that students may still be cheating without being caught.”
Still, one student felt that the most common violations of the “unauthorized aid” part of the honor pledge are unintentional. “Most of the time students do not know when they are violating the code. With different standards from different teachers and a bad sense of what is and what isn’t common sense leads to this. The most egregious violations however, stem from intentional violations.”
In the Language Department, online translators have been outlawed without permission of the teacher. However, as one student explained, “I go on freetranslation.com and type in the paragraphs I don’t understand”. According an upper former, who also asked to remain anonymous, “[Translation websites] seem to be the same thing as looking up word sin the dictionary, just faster.” While the ease of typing in a word on and having it instantly translated may be the way of the future, yet for now students have to rely on their old-school dictionaries.
While there is currently no statistical analysis of violations, and computers are not randomly searched by the school, the feeling of a big brother exists, limiting some from logging on to these sites on a regular basis. “I’m sure ITS does something to check on what we are doing,” one under former noted, “They have all the personnel to check”. One RTA, said, “It would be relatively easy to sweep the network of all visited sites, but I do not see that coming.”
However, as Cook noted “the overall goal of the administration is not to get the students in trouble; it is to help the students get a good feeling of what we want them to do and not do.” Cook continued, “It is a terrible feeling when a teacher thinks a piece of work might be plagiarism.” One senior agreed, “The honor code is a great facet of the Choate community which keeps most students in check, yet a stringent punishment is necessary to keep the rest straight.”
The future of violations and contrasting views on “unauthorized aid” and the freedom of the student body will still be under debate as there is no clear-cut solution to the issue. As freshman put it perfectly: “It is hard to weed out the cheaters in a community situation built on the principle of trust, yet there will always be those cheaters in life, so maybe it doesn’t make sense to change.”
