Editorial
Cheating sanctions
require consistency
While most won't admit it, the facta are that just
about every University student cheats at some point
during his or her academic career, whether it be a fur
tive glance at a neighbor's test or the full-scale crib
sheet tucked under the desk.
And as many ways as there are to cheat, there are
also, at present, as many ways to punish those who get
caught. A recent proposal submitted by the ASUO Of
fice of Student Advocacy points out the need for con
sistency In handling academic dishonesty cases, and it
is a proposal that should be implemented.
Presently, there is a wide diversity of styles in the
way educators handle cheating cases. In similar cases,
one professor may fail the student, another may grant
an incomplete and allow the student to make up the
work, and a third professor might average the course
work all together without the dishonest work Such in
consistencies in punishment are unfair to students.
Under the OSA proposal, the instructor may not
impose any academic sanction until the disciplinary
charge is resolved by the student conduct coordinator.
The student stays in class and continues to do the
work. If the student is found guilty of cheating by the
conduct coordinator, the student's grade is adjusted up
to and including a failing grade.
In adjusting the grade, the faculty member assigns
zero credit to the student's dishonest work, and in
cludes that work in the student’s sum total when figur
ing out the grade. For most major cases, such as cheat
ing on a midterm or final, that would still mean failing
a class.
If there are any drawbacks to the OSA proposal,
one would be that such a strict procedure may not be a
good disincentive in all cases. Students, knowing that
not much is at risk, might be willing to sneak a peek
on the ubiquitous weekly 10-point quiz.
Another drawback: The new rule might also not al
low for extenuating circumstances, those unavoidable
incidents in life that we occasionally use to justify not
studying for exams. There is arguably, less to lose here
through adopting the proposal. If the matter is serious
enough, the student should have discussed it with the
professor before the test
Despite these tw-o problems, it still seems that a
greater justice and a more fair, more equitable one
— will be served by adopting the OSA recommenda
tions and the standard of punishment it contains. Yes.
students should learn that cheating isn't right, no mat
ter where or when. But they should also expect to be
treated fairly in the administration of that lesson.
THIS MOMKE/WAS PEP ENOOSH OF ^
TrtE ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER CYClAMOTE
ID HffETEN 30 CANS OF SODA EVERT
PAT,5RWSAWEEKRXI17 YEAR?
and these IS NOWINS wrong
WflHH»M...V\IElL,
ALMOST UOTH1N6.
t : ,
*OStG&
i
Mental evaluation must be independent
One fundamental tenet of proper law is
the right to independent : ounsel the right
to seek legal help or documentation from re
liable sources outside the state. A new pro
posal to amend the University's conduct
code would disturb that tenet.
The proposal from the office of the vice
president for the administration deals with
cases concerning academic dishonesty and
mental instability. Under the changed rule,
students charged with any violation of the
conduct code would be required to submit a
written document from a University Student
Health Center psychiatrist if they are to
claim mental instability during the hearings
process.
In a sparsely attended public hearing
held last Wednesday, some important con
cerns about this change were voic ed.
While it is clear that some form of ex
amination and documentation is necessary
in those tvpes of cases, it is also equally
clear that students' rights would not be ade
quately served if psychological evaluations
are limited to the University's team of coun
selors.
The evaluation must come from a source
not affiliated in any way with the Universi
tv. Ann as trie item ot psycnotogy is popu
lated enough by reliable therapists, there is
no reason why the student couldn’t submit
to testing by an outside counselor. In the
outside legal world, people are allowed
evaluation independent of the state: so it
should be here.
There is also the concern about requiring
the student to see a doctor "before the fact."
That is. by requiring a student to visit a psy
chiatrist and secure a mental instability cer
tification before the hearing, the student
would have to make the realization that he
or she is instable. It seems to us that in most
cases, the student simply cannot make that
decision.
This situation catches students in the
classic catch-22: if a person is instable, he or
she wouldn't realize it and can’t use that as
a defense, where the person who only thinks
they might be instable and seeks help is ac
tually demonstrating the good sense we
would expect out of a perfectly functional
human being.
The determination that a student is sick
must be made by non-University-affiliated
personnel, and the determination shouldn't
bo limited to certain window of time.
Letters
Credit
Being a senior senior at the
University is both a grind and a
million laughs.
I was bom in tin? days of Cal
vin Coolidge; most of my fel
low students were t>orn during
the Nixon years.
A few of the "middle-aged"
students arrived on this earth
during the first or second term
of Dwight David Kisenhower.
Tuition is free to seniors over
05, hut you don’t get any credit
added onto your transcript un
less you pay tuition.
I'm studying political science
at the University: U S Foreign
Policy, involving writing a 15
page term paper on “Could a
Now United States Foreign
Policy Help tiring Peace and
justice to Nicaragua?"
As a professional writer with
-10 years experience. I could ex
pect to 1m- paid up to $3,000 for
this paper Hut. my fellow stu
dents (and I. if I want transcript
credit) are expected to pay the
University $10,000 in tuition
for letting us spend about -to
hours apiece to write this pa
per It's a lot of work, but fun,
including 40 pages of reading
daily, and two written exami
nations. Next month I'll do It
weeks work in five days at the
University.
Even without tuition educa
tion is expensive. Seniors
should get full transcript cred
it, just as Nixon-era students
do!
J.J. Albi
Eugene
Give a hoot
I do not see how intelligent
college students can have such
difficulty defining a word for a
common object. This entity is
fathered at conception and is
mothered before birth, whence
the phrase "prenatal care
If we do not can? for the
phrase "killing a p re burn." we
can use "terminating a preg
nancy." These are synony
mous In fact, another circle
will speak prec isely of "termi
nating with extreme prejudice"
an agent they want to disown,
when they mean to kill him
If the man who wished he
had not fathered it and the
woman who does not wish to
mother it want to name it fetus,
well, it is their prerogative to
name it whatever they choose.
And if fetus is getting to be a
common name, so much the
better.
|ust remember you cannot
make an omelette without
breaking eggs. And as for tying
environmental issues in with
this concern for life, a lot of
people just don't give a hoot.
Karl (losnell
Eugene
Firebrand
In regard to Bert Tryba’s let
ter "Beware agenda" (ODE.
May 15). there is nothing more
hypocrite al than the pot call
ing the kettle black I don't
mind Tryba believing what he
does, but you think he would
be consistent
“Emotional buttons” and
"... exploits emotion, shunning
reason?” Mr. Tryba, you are a
repeat offender of such acts you
charge against Jon Wollander
And in the same letter even, as
evidenced by your last para
graph about "Christian zeal
ots" who are "undermining
our Constitutional liberties.”
For someone who is as logi
cal and reasonable as yourself.
Mr. Tryba, you sum come
across as quite the emotional
firebrand.
Rob Hartsoek
leisure studies
Clean house
I am writing in response to
Craig Namba's article that de
fended the Greek system (ODE.
May 17). He stated. "1 agree
that then! are things that indi
vidual Greeks have done that
are reprehensible but to
blame the entire system is a
cop-out "
Well Craig, that's not how 1
sec; it. You see, the Greek sys
tem can expel or at least punish
those members in the system
that act in a "reprehensible”
fashion. Hut the Greek system
refuses to do so; thus I feel that
the system is responsible for
the actions of its members. If a
person becomes affiliated with
an organization, that organiza
tion is at least partially respon
sible for that individual, and
vice versa.
Namba went on to state that
people should not criticize
Greeks because "stirring up
bad feelings doesn't accom
plish anything." Well Craig, it
seems that somebody needs to
do something because I don't
see the Greeks volunteering to
mend their ways. In other
words Craig, clean your own
house or someone will do it for
you.
And Craig, the; logic (or qua
si-logic) in your closing state
ment was weak
Gerrit koepping
journalism