xiggi
November 24, 2008, 1:53am
71
<p>
As a student it may be surprising that I would agree with the professor’s decision. Plagarism is such as heinous evil that it must be punished to the greatest extent. The reason why plagarism and cheating is so rampant in all levels of education - elementary, high school, and college - is that the punishements are often rare and weak. For example, even giving the offending student a F for the course often do not prevent cheating. </p>
<p>Hence, I think that anyone who’s stupid, idiotic, and insane enough to cheat should be punished. In this case, the punishment is less than severe enough. Why? Because, given that students know there’s only a tiny probability that their cheating will be detected, only a heavy penalty will suffice. It’s the inverse of lottery tickets, given the low probability of winning a several million dollar reward is needed.
</p>
<p>A tiny bit of hyperbole? You might want to look up the Center for College Affordability and Productivity blog and what his leading “scholar” has to stay on the subject. Actually, here’s what he says:</p>
<p>
Loye Young is today’s hero. He has been fired by Texas A and M for lowering the self esteem of six cheaters in his class. Meanwhile, of course, the “F” grades he gave the students have been put on hold. At least that is what INSIDE HIGHER ED tells us this morning.</p>
<p>This is shameful and contemptible. Mr. Young warned students on his syllabus that he would do precisely what he actually did --humiliate and fail students who cheat and plagiarize. Students allegedly cheated, so Mr. Young followed his own policy, announcing his actions on his web site. A and M pointed out, no doubt correctly, that Young violated the Buckley Amendment designed to protect the privacy of students.
</p>
<p>As far as the good professor himself here is what he has to say:</p>
<p>
Is Humiliation an Ethically Appropriate Response to Plagiarism?
<p>The Vice President-elect, Senator Joseph Biden, is perhaps the most well-known plagiarizer in recent history. Biden was caught plagiarizing while at Syracuse Law School. The school gave him an F, required him to retake the course, and subsequently treated the incident as confidential. See [Biden</a> Was Accused of Plagiarism in Law School - New York Times](<a href=“http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE5DD173BF934A2575AC0A961948260]Biden ”>http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE5DD173BF934A2575AC0A961948260 )</p>
<p>Unfortunately, Biden didn’t learn his lesson at law school. He continued to plagiarize for another 20 years. During the 1988 presidential campaign, Senator Biden’s career of plagiarizing came to light, and he was forced to end his presidential bid. (For details of Mr. Biden’s plagiarism career, see, e.g., [The</a> Idler, A Web Periodical, 1-23](<a href=“http://www.the-idler.com/IDLER-02/1-23.html]The ”>http://www.the-idler.com/IDLER-02/1-23.html ), [The</a> wacky plagiarisms of Joe Biden. - By Jack Shafer - Slate Magazine](<a href=“http://www.slate.com/id/2198597/]The ”>The wacky plagiarisms of Joe Biden. ), and [Why</a> Biden’s plagiarims shouldn’t be forgotten. - By David Greenberg - Slate Magazine](<a href=“http://www.slate.com/id/2198543/]Why ”>Why Biden's plagiarims shouldn't be forgotten. ).)</p>
<p>It is my belief that the Syracuse incident left a subtle and subliminal message in Biden’s mind: plagiarism is not a deal breaker. Consequently, he continued to plagiarize. Unfortunately for the Senator, the facts came to public light at the worst possible time: when he was running for President.</p>
<p>I believe that had the Syracuse incident been available publicly, Mr. Biden would have actually learned his lesson and would not have plagiarized later. Twenty years later, if the incident had come up at all, the Senator would have plausibly and convincingly maintained that the incident was a youthful mistake.</p>
<p>There is yet another reason for publicity in such cases: unjustly accused students are protected, for two reasons. One, a professor will be more careful before blowing the whistle. I myself knew that posting the students’ names would be appropriately subject to intense public scrutiny. Therefore, I construed every ambiguity in the students’ favor. Two, public disclosure ensures that subsequent determinations by the university are founded on evidence and dispensed fairly.
</p>