plagarism.

IvyLeagueFreak · February 19, 2007, 4:58pm

This really smart kid (i mean takes pre calc in frosh yr)

was caught plagarizing recently

and now, it’s on his permanent record.

Does that eliminate his chances of going to a really good school?

19382 · February 19, 2007, 5:03pm

Pretty much.

SouthernStudent · February 19, 2007, 5:07pm

Ever heard of Blair Hornstine?

Had her admission to Harvard revoked because it came out that she had Plagiarized

IvyLeagueFreak · February 19, 2007, 5:07pm

Well, that also eliminates him from being valedictorian right?

sybbie719 · February 19, 2007, 9:03pm

Your friend’s academic integrity is now under scrutiny, as some will think that this is not the first time that he plagarized, may just the first time he got caught.

Keep in mind that many colleges frown upon plagarism and will kick you out for it. For schools with academic honor codes plagarism is the kiss of death as the school will not hesitate to kick you out.

From The Dartmouth

On trial: the committee on standards

We’ve all heard of them – the miscreants, the prosecuted, the kids who fade into the background under a cloud of secrecy and shame: the Parkhursted. Few people know what “Parkhursting” actually entails beyond a revocation of BlitzMail and a push out of the Dartmouth bubble. Like car accidents and death, people usually think, “That won’t happen to me.” At least that is what Daniel Obaseki '07 thought up until his entrance into the world of suspension. “I used to think there was a certain type of kid that got Parkhursted,” Obaseki said. “The individuals who bought papers, or cheated on tests. I never realized there’s an entire subculture of kids getting shafted by the system.”

***Obaseki had just returned from a stressful recruiting trip this fall and had been hired by an investment banking firm. He was a senior, five credits away from graduating, and the tracks for the next stage in life had been set into place. Life was good. After dinner with his best friend he stopped at the Thayer BlitzMail terminals to make plans for the night. But then he saw it, an email from his philosophy professor. He had been suspected of plagiarism. The paper that he had stayed up all night writing had been forwarded to Undergraduate Judicial Affairs. The process had been set in motion, and Obaseki would later be suspended for three terms. “I’m thinking ‘This can’t be happening,’” Obaseki said. “‘Oh God, my life is over.’” ***

When Obaseki first received the fateful news, he read over his paper and realized that in his rush to send it in via BlitzMail, he had forgotten to add in his citations. “It was clear to anyone looking at the paper that it was a mistake,” Obaseki said. “I had attributed statements throughout the paper to certain philosophers which clearly showed that I was intending to insert the citations.”

According to Thompson, though, “regardless of the intent, a violation of the honor principle is a violation of the honor principle.” 

Dean Nelson compared unintentional plagiarism to exceeding the speed limit. “The college’s book on sources makes it clear that plagiarism is an issue really independent of intention just like exceeding the speed limit is unintentional,” Nelson said. “You may not have been intending to exceed the speed limit, but you still did. If you turn in a paper where you unintentionally made citation mistakes this is still an instance of plagiarism.” Yet intentionality can potentially play a role in the length of suspension. “If there are two students who have been convicted of plagiarism, and one student’s plagiarism was premeditated, the sanction for this individual might look different than a student who made citation mistakes,” Nelson said.

For his evidence, Obaseki brought in his outline, notes, sources and printouts. “Along the margins of my notes were marks which indicated exactly where a certain quote or passage was going to be used in the paper,” Obaseki said. “The dean who heard my case told me that she was not questioning my integrity and that she wished there were 4,000 kids like me at Dartmouth, but that she was going to have to get me on a technicality. If she was not questioning my integrity, the tenet on which the principle is founded, what was she questioning?”

To receive his verdict, Obaseki was brought to the office of a dean who had not heard his case. He had never met her before. In the envelope that she handed him was a letter which found him guilty of plagiarism and told him that he was suspended for three terms. 

“I went into shock mode,” Obaseki said. ***“I gave the dean a look of incredulity and then left to call my parents and friends.” In the envelope there was also a form for reapplication to Dartmouth which noted that students were not guaranteed readmission. Obaseki had 48 hours to pack his bags and leave campus.

Obaseki now makes up a group of students that he refers to as the “disenchanted and disenfranchised.” One of the stipulations of suspension is that any classes a student takes outside of Dartmouth during the suspension period cannot count as transfer credits.*** Knutson complained about the lack of options for suspended students. “When felons get released from jail, the government will find them work,” Knutson said. “I had no job or internship. I wasted an entire term.” 

Ultimately, Obaseki admits that he did make an error. “I made the careless and rushed mistake of forgetting to include my citations. However, to say that such a mistake warrants a year of my life is hard for me to accept,” he said. “I have been in love with this school since I first heard about it in high school but I guess what they say is true – unrequited love is a *****.”

<a href=“http://www.thedartmouth.com/article.php?aid=2007011905010[/url]”>http://www.thedartmouth.com/article.php?aid=2007011905010</a>

flong · February 19, 2007, 9:04pm

it doesnt eliminate but severely cripples that person’s chances at a good school. Cheating once at a University warrants being kicked out w/o a refund and if u cheat in hs and get caught, all the work uve done for every class becomes scrutinized. For all the Universities know, he/she could have cheated on every single thing to get to that level

pmcharkins · February 19, 2007, 9:09pm

^wow^ that suckkks

as far as for the pre-calc. kid caught plagiarising, there is no way of knowing how much he had already plagiarized in other classes and in that class, and doing that as a freshmen is a true precursor to how he might deal with classwork throughout the rest of high school…I really don’t feel sorry for him.

mochamaven · February 20, 2007, 4:25pm

It’s not a definite “no”…if he has a spotless record from now on and the GC can explain it away, saying he’s “learned,” he might be ok. I have no idea how your school handles the “val” issue when it comes to cheating…
lol is he your competition or something??

gfred9 · February 20, 2007, 5:08pm

I don’t see how taking pre-calc as a freshman denotes intelligence.

IvyLeagueFreak · February 20, 2007, 5:13pm

Hehe. Not my competition, just asking.

He’s actually stupid, not academically though.

He acts idiotically at points.

Howver. he does cheat ALOT

why, he just admitted it in Health today.

This is just the first time he got caught.

SouthernStudent · February 20, 2007, 5:16pm

Honestly if he does cheat as much as you say, I feel no sympathy for him and beleive he deserves not to get admitted.

FreshElephant · February 20, 2007, 5:23pm

Wow, ****ing up that kid’s academic career on a technicality makes Dartmouth people look like a bunch of morons.

wings · February 20, 2007, 5:24pm

Last year, a girl I know was caught for plagiarism… and as most know when that happens, you’re basically screwed. Her mom, however, immediately signed her up to meet weekly with a psychiatrist. What kind of an effect will that do, you ask? Well, on the girl’s transcript it was evident that she cheated (and it was a major offense too-- either cheating on a test or essay or something of the sort)… but on her college app she wrote that at the time she cheated she was “mentally unstable” and “mentally stressed” from all her schoolwork that she just HAD to cheat-- AND she cited her meetings with a psychiatrist as proof. I’m not sure if the idea was her own idea or her mom’s, but it was heIIa cunning. Oh yeah, she currently attends Duke.

with_one_voice · February 26, 2007, 10:47pm

What/where did he plagiarize? A school report?

davnasca · February 26, 2007, 10:51pm

Did You Know That:

Some girls wright cheat sheets on their inner thigh and then wear a skirt so they can cheat on tests? That one could be awkward to explain during an intimate moment!

“Why do you have the quadratic formula on your inner thigh?”

I just figured out people do this ***** today. People really need to just pay attention in class…

with_one_voice · February 26, 2007, 10:56pm

Haha, that really is pretty ■■■■■■■■. I’ve always sort of wondered why people do that… Obviously you can’t fit too much information on your body, so if it’s one or two formulas, why not just spend an extra few minutes memorizing them?

ferrisbueller · February 27, 2007, 12:51am

Colleges need to be nicer about instances where there is obviously no question of integrity. Just appearing before a disciplinary committee is oviously enough to ensure that that guy will never forget his citations again. To ruin his academic standing like that is just cruel.

davnasca · February 27, 2007, 10:18pm

I know I love the fact that kid x in 1st per chem can memorize a sequence of 15 multiple choice answer letters and then relay them to kid y in 5th per chem who can also memorize them but doesn’t can’t memorize formulas!

backfire · February 27, 2007, 11:28pm

guess i wont be attending dartmouth if i get accepted. what a horrible school for doing this

SQL · February 27, 2007, 11:39pm

The fact that multiple Dartmouth officials all supported his suspension really lowers my opinion of the school. I agree, it is a horrible school if they’re doing this.

plagarism.

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