MONDAY: Opinion
TUESDAY: Politics
WEDNESDAY: Opinion
THURSDAY: Politics
FRIDAY: Opinion
editorials, letters, commentary and perspective
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Cheat and be damned - but not caught
OPINION
mm
Sonja
Sherwood
UP AHEAD
New academic
policies are on the
docket for a hear
ing to amend the
Student Conduct
Code at 2 p.m.,
Nov. 1 in the EMU
Walnut Room.
The University is
proposing to in
crease campus
participation in the
judicial process by
creating a review
board comprised
of students and
faculty to hear
cases of academic
dishonesty.
If academic integrity was
taught at the University,
somebody already would have
the crib sheets
There are a hundred ways to
cheat in school. You can
wear your baseball cap so it
covers your eyes, stuff a
cheat sheet into the holes of your
jeans or write the answers on your
desk the day before the exam. Have
a big paper? Just phone up one of a
number of “research assistance”
companies around the country. Un
sure of your ability to juggle your
schoolwork with weekends at Ren
nie’s? Join a fraternity and make hay
with the house test-files. Still not
convinced you’re damned? Go or
der yourself a copy of “Cheating
101: The Benefits and Fundamen
tals of Earning the Easy ‘A’,” the
cheater’s handbook written by an
undergraduate at Rutgers Universi
ty — only don’t order it from the
University bookstore (first lesson)!
By all accounts, universities are
brimming with cheats, thieves and
liars. An abundance of studies by
educators and ethics think-tanks all
puzzle over evidence of the same
problem: Academic dishonesty is
rife. Even here!! In 1992, the Uni
versity was included in a study of
academic dishonesty in a number of
public schools around the country.
The percentage of students sur
veyed from the University class of
1992 (some of you are still around
— remember?) who admitted to
cheating within the previous year
was 91 percent. That’s higher than
most students get on their tests even
when they copy answers. 91 per
cent wasn’t even atypical; the na
tional average differed by only a
couple of percentage points.
What that means for the remain
ing 9 percent are inflated overall
GPAs and the knowledge that after
college the good jobs will go to the
ethical epsilons with padded vitae.
Fair? No. Likely to change? No.
Contemporary cheat rates are con
sistent with those published 30
years ago, indicating that the prob
lem isn’t growing, it’s merely self
replicating. Which suggests that
students’ moral fiber will continue
to unravel at a steady rate, regard
less of what punitive experiments
are implemented. Like all things
both social and bad, cheating is sys
temic, and therefore just one of sev
eral bad strokes on the big picture.
Part of the problem is philosophy.
American educators believe that do
ing enhances thinking, when in fact
it just as often substitutes for it. Ed
ucators assign papers, projects, and
presentations — sometimes all at
once. This piles on the pressure and
simultaneously cuts down on re
flection, thus tempting students to
take shortcuts while rendering the
actual intellectual rewards of learn
ing negligible. Work overload is a
mindkiller. Ambitious students
with high grades and a lot to lose
are just as likely to cheat as the
slackers. In addition, our social sys
tem applauds networking activities,
so that the typical student sets aside
a few hours a week for at least one
club or committee, sometimes even
a sport. The only lesson many learn
is that it really isn’t what you know,
but who you know — and everyone
knows a lot of people who know
nothing.
Another problem is that, verily,
everybody’s doing it. Undergradu
ates who cheat in school grow up to
become adults who cheat on taxes,
insurance, health claims, you name
it. University administrators, too,
have been known to inflate SAT
scores to improve their reputation
and lure new recruits. Some Califor
nia high schools discovered a way
to fleece the state of GPA-depen
dent funding in the early ‘80s by re
defining their student populations
so that poor students weren’t fig
ured into the calculations. Original
sin, it turns out, is a little tricky to
place.
One thing that has come out of
these studies is the hypothesis that
the best way to treat temptation is to
appeal to the conscience. Instances
of academic dishonesty are typical
ly lower at schools that have an
honor code. These codes have ab
solutely no authority beyond the
ethical entitlement they bestow on
you to give your inner child a sound
spanking, but some speculate that
codes have helped maintain the in
tegrity of the private schools and
military academies that use them.
There’s no compelling evidence,
though, that the conscience of a
public school student is more hard
ened than an Ivy Leaguer’s. It’s
more likely that the high morals at
private schools are simply the result
of lower teacher/student ratios. Idle
hands make mischief most merrily
when nobody’s watching.
If this is the case, then our post
Measure 5, faculty-scarce Universi
ty is in a hell of a bind. Which
brings us to another of academia’s
shortcomings, and probably the pri
mary reason students cheat: They
can get away with it. Sanctions
ranging from failing the class to ex
pulsion are in place but don’t do
any good if the infraction is never
detected, which — as 91 percent of
the 1992 student body can attest —
they usually aren’t.
Sonja Sherwood is a columnist for
the Emerald. Her views do not
necessarily represent those of the
newspaper. Sonja can be reached at
cheers@gladstone.uoregon.edu
LETTERS
Useful Police
This is in response to Simon Austin’s let
ter, “Useless Police” (ODE, Oct. 16). He is
highly critical of the Eugene police for not
aiding him or his roommates after they were
assaulted two weeks ago. I’m a cop here and
believe we should be held accountable for
our actions in this incident. Unfortunately,
Mr. Austin is either ignorant of or lying
about the truth in this case.
We were called to 715 E. 16th Ave. re
garding an assault at 1:37 a.m. on Oct. 6.
The call was dispatched a minute later, and
we arrived at 1:38 a.m. Officers detained an
individual outside, but were informed by a
resident who had been assaulted that he
wasn’t the assailant. A six-page police re
port was written, including Austin’s state
ment that he didn’t know who the suspects
were. Dozens of hours of investigation have
taken place since that time, and three sus
pects have been charged with felony counts
of assault. A fourth suspect has been identi
fied and will soon be arrested.
Mr. Austin might be a “nice guy” and a
heck of a good host; after all, he admits
inviting four strangers into his house and
giving them a free beverage. The 17-year
olds appreciated the beer, Mr. Austin, but
the police resent your inaccurate account
and insults.
Sgt. David Poppe
Eugene police department
Free party
Those of you involved with student
groups know the frustrations of getting your
group’s name known on campus. Many
clubs plan events to get the group name out,
and although usually extremely successful,
these events cost money! That is where the
PARTY Fund comes into play.
Your student group can apply for a mini
grant to help with the cost of your fall event.
We ask that your event/activity is planned
for a Friday or Saturday night, and that it
lasts until at least midnight. What is the
purpose of the PARTY Fund? The Office of
Student Life is providing these mini grants
to encourage fun, safe, late night activities
on campus.
So how can your group apply? Pick up an
application at the front desk of 364 Oregon
Hall and fill it out. You plan the event, and
we give money to aid you. It’s that simple!
Call 346-1135 for a list of fun, upcoming
events!
Misty Brown
PARTY Fund
Student Director
Educate yourself
Voting is your right in a democracy. Exer
cise it, even though the mass of initiatives
appears cumbersome. Just choose a few to
vote on that are important to you. Get to
know something about a few of the candi
dates and vote for them. Just receiving the
huge voter pamphlet in the mail may be
enough to turn you off. Reading it can be a
daunting experience for all of us. You will
get more information from the Eugene
Weekly and the “other paper” than from the
garbled language in the city/county/state
publication.
Be sure to note who is for and who is
against a measure or candidate. If Monsan
to wants the toxic right to know measure de
feated, or the Coca-Cola people want the
bottle bill voted down, you can figure out
yourself where to put your vote. It’s easy.
There are lots of opportunities to hear the
candidates speak on campus. Take time out
to learn from them what the issues are
about. They are your future! Vote! Be in
formed!
Hilde Cherry
Eugene
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