<p>anitaw, that’s exactly what I was thinking. If it had been me, I might even have dropped out of Harvard altogether. I would have been really, really ashamed and would have laid low, as you said. The last thing I would have done is apply for a peer advisor position! Wow. Really hard to fathom from both her perspective and the university’s. I wonder how the Harvard students will feel about this when they learn of it?</p>
<p>This has long been reported in the Crimson.</p>
<p>according to the Crimson:</p>
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<p><a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/printerfriendly.aspx?ref=512660[/url]”>http://www.thecrimson.com/printerfriendly.aspx?ref=512660</a></p>
<p>I would think that even as a peer advisor she is acting in a leaderhsip/mentoring capacity and I have to wonder that with her selection as a peer advisor to incoming freshmen, what is the message that Harvard is trying to send?</p>
<p>Well, she can always say “Don’t do as I did. It will come back to bite you.” :)</p>
<p>thousands…hundreds…same thing :)</p>
<p>I need to add, that, setting aside the whole subject, Xiggi’s title and intro in the OP was hilarious! Thanks for the laugh, Xiggi.</p>
<p>Yes, hilarious! Thanks Ziggi.</p>
<p>Whatever happened to: “cheaters never prosper”?</p>
<p>I’m not one of those who runs around saying, what is our society coming to. But, honestly, what is our society coming to?</p>
<p>Just her selection as a peer advisor seems to say that Harvard values notoriety, for any reason, more than integrity. I am astounded.</p>
<p>I hate to be a contrarian, but I do feel like there’s a great deal of bias against Kaavya here. I mean, if she did in fact plagiarize knowingly, she is a terrible choice and all that, but please dont forget that she hasnt admitted to it, and it isnt impossible that much of the plagiarism was unintended. I know that as a young writer myself, books I read during middle school and elementary school, as well as books I read repeatedly, directly influence my writing style. I catch myself often using whole lines from books (slightly modified) simply because it’s so ingrained in me. So, although it is unlikely that she is innocent in many people’s eyes, there’s no reason to crucify this young woman because she was chosen to help introduce other students to her college- perhaps Harvard realized the ambiguity of the whole controversy and decided to put that aside when making choices for advisors.</p>
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<p>ummm … anybody kept up-to-date on this? I remember reading a list of quotes from Ms. V’s book set beside quotes from her apparent sources (originally just one novel was cited, but the list grew). They were abundant and strikingly similar.</p>
<p>Her publisher withdrew her novel. That certainly says something.</p>
<p>But it’s fair, I suppose, to assume innocence until proven… and so forth, and perhaps that’s why Harvard has chosen to ignore the accusations? Perhaps H sees her appointment as an frosh adviser to be a way of casting doubt on the woman’s accusers? Beats me.</p>
<p>The controversy was pretty unambiguous. Check this out if you still have doubts:
<a href=“How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life - Wikipedia”>How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life - Wikipedia;
<p>That’s pretty damning evidence.
Even if the girl did not cheat, there’s still a lot of suspicion regarding her integrity, and I was under the impression that the most prestigious school in the country did not take chances with integrity.</p>
<p>"I hate to be a contrarian, but I do feel like there’s a great deal of bias against Kaavya here. I mean, if she did in fact plagiarize knowingly, she is a terrible choice and all that, but please dont forget that she hasnt admitted to it, and it isnt impossible that much of the plagiarism was unintended. "</p>
<p>Somethingnew, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. KV has indeed not admitted her guilt, and that is in fact the most abject part about her attitude. There are simply no mitigating excuses nor justifications in this case: she is a unrepentant cheater and a bad liar to boot. The facts have been established beyond any reasonable doubts, and sh can extremely lucky that the publishers and the authors who were involved showed remarkable mercy–probably after considering the age and “innocence” of the culprit. </p>
<p>However, the issue in this discusssion is not the regashing of the guilt or innocence of the plagiarist–that is well established–but that Harvard was in a position to send a clear and positive message, and failed to do so. While there could be some understanding for the fig leave they pulled to reject a just punishment such as outright expulsion, choosing a cheater and a liar as a peer advisor is sending a clear message that, for Harvard, the integrity of individuals is not as important as their purported intellectual brilliance.</p>
<p>And that is a shame!</p>
<p>PS The patterns and depth of cheating would have most definitely disqualified KV as a candidate. Harvard rescinded Blair’s acceptance for a lot less. Is the message that, once you’re attending the school, the integrity bar is lowered?</p>
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<p>ouch, xiggi. Good point though. If nothing else, this is a p.r. nightmare.</p>
<p>Okay, is it possible that the wheels of this peer advisory selection were in motion prior to the book being withdrawn from the marketplace? The article was written in early June. Perhaps she was selected as peer advisor before Harvard knew of the plagiarism (i.e. at the end of 1st semester?). Maybe she even has been given the boot from the advisory over the summer? Just wondering aloud here, because it certainly does send a message, and not a message that I imagine any university president or faculty member would care for.</p>
<p>Maybe it’s me, but after all that has happened maybe KV should have had the good grace to either respectfully declined the postion or stepped down/ resigned from the postition .</p>
<p>Sybbie, I agree.</p>
<p>Momof2inca: I think the applications for the positions were submitted before things broke out, but the decisions came out in the midst of the hoopla. I, for one, think that Kayvaa should have taken a leave of absence; and failing that, withdrawn her application for the peer counselor position. I’m also wondering “What were they thinking?” about all the people involved.</p>
<p>An unfortunate by-product of the competitiveness of the elite schools is that it selects for kids who (often enabled by their parents) know how to game the system and do so with no moral compass. A “lesser” student would likely be sufficiently mortified by the whole affair that they would avoid further public exposure. This is obviously not the case for Ms. Viswanathan. Also unfortunate is that this megalomania will continue to be rewarded, as success in many areas is a much a function of ego as of competence.</p>
<p>Just to provide dates…</p>
<p>As a newly selected Peer Advising Fellow myself (I’m a rising sophomore at Harvard College), I had to apply by April 16 and interviews for the position occurred on April 20. The decisions were e-mailed on May 2.</p>
<p>So, Harvard has chosen to look the other way or to condone plagarism and lying so long as they are not in the context of academic work.</p>
<p>The girl has decided she is worthy of being a peer advisor (at least).</p>
<p>Now, I am thinking, where are the parents of this girl and what are THEY thinking or telling her or doing.</p>
<p>Her ‘bombastic’ nature comes from somewhere. </p>
<p>If she were MY daughter…</p>
<p>As to the whole dates thing, doesn’t matter…stuff gets rescinded all the time in this world. She may have been selected in May, she could still be uninvited in June.</p>
<p>So, xjayc, what do you think about the selection of your fellow peer advisor?</p>
<p>When was the plagiarism discovered?</p>