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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2003)
An independent newspaper http://www.dailyemerald.com Monday, December 1,2003 Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon Volume 105, Issue 65 WHY STUDENTS CHEAT STUDENT VIOLATIONS 0 50 100 Academic dishonesty □ Academic cheating ■ Academic plagiarism * Data for academic cheating and academic plagiarism violations were not available for the 1999-2000 year. SOURCE: University Office of Judicial Affairs STORY JENNIFER MARIE BEAR PHOTOGRAPHY ADAM AMATO DESIGN SEAN HANSON Many equate cheating with laziness, but studies show most cheat because of high academic pressure and desperate circumstances The whys of cheating are plentiful — there are almost as many reasons for cheating as there are students who do it. And according to national statistics, there are a lot of stu dents doing it. In 1999, Donald McCabe of Rutgers University, one of the nation's leading researchers on academic integrity, di rected a national survey of 2,100 students on 21 different college campuses to determine the extent of cheating. More than 75 percent of student respondents admitted to cheat ing in some form. According to Director of Student Judicial Affairs Chris Loschiavo, the University has not participated in any of the recent studies on academic integrity, but it did engage in one of McCabe's earlier studies in 1992 and 1993. Loschia vo said the past survey found that about 80 percent of stu dents at the University admitted to cheating. However, the number of students who own up to cheat ing in surveys is in sharp contrast with the number of aca demic dishonesty cases that are processed through the Of fice of Judicial Affairs. From 2002 to 2003, there were 202 academic dishonesty cases at the University, while enrollment totaled 18,421. That means 1.1 percent of the student population was caught cheating. Regardless of how many students cheat and get away with it, most students know cheating is a cardinal sin in the academic community. So what factors motivate students to do something they know is wrong? Teaching Effectiveness Program Director Georgeanne Cooper said students may cheat for a variety of reasons. "Some do it just to see if they can get away with it, some do it because they feel pressure to do well, maybe even people cheat to gain some illusion of self-worth or avoid the shame of failure," Cooper said. Cooper added that she has dealt with academic dishonesty Turn to CHEATING, page 3 PART 1 OF 5 Today: Why students cheat Tuesday: Ways students cheat Wednesday: Repercussions of cheating Thursday: Ways to stop cheating Friday: Profile of a cheater ONLINE POLL Each week, the Emerald publishes the results of the previous week’s poll and the coming week's poll question on Page 2. Visit http://www.daHy emerald.com to vote. This week: Do you think cheating is a serious problem? Choices: Yes, I work hard for my grades and others should have to do the same; Yes, cheating shows a lack of integrity; No, it doesn’t matter if students cheat; No, students should do whatever it takes to get a good grade. Oregon voters will likely face tax measure Petitioners submitted almost three times the necessary number of signatures to put a Legislature-approved tax increase to a vote By A. Sho Ikeda Senior News Reporter Opponents of the Oregon Legislature's $800 million income tax surcharge submitted more than 147,000 signatures to elec tion officials on Tuesday — almost three times the number of signatures necessary to put the tax increase to a vote in a Febru ary special election. Petitioners needed 50,420 valid signatures to place House Bill 2152 — legislation authorizing the tax surcharge that lawmakers passed last summer to balance the budget — on the ballot. Elec tion officials have until Dec. 9 to determine whether the petition ers have the required 50,420 signatures. Both supporters of the tax increase and opponents agreed that petitioners had probably collected the necessary number of signatures. If enough valid signatures are recognized, HB 2152 would be put up for a vote in a Feb. 3 special election. A "yes" vote would uphold the tax increase, and a "no" vote would reject it. If the tax measure passes, a three-year income tax surcharge Turn to REFERENDUM, page 4 Professor granted research award of $2.4 million The government grant will fund William Roberts' cell research that focuses on the nervous system By Caron Alarab News Reporter University Biology Professor William Roberts has received a $2.4 million grant to perform research on how human cells communi cate chemically. The U.S. Department of Health and 1 luman Services awarded the five-year grant to fund neurobiology research that focuses on synap tic transmission in the nervous system, which is the basis for how the brain works. Roberts, who is also the director of the University Institute of Neu roscience, submitted the grant proposal in February and waited for more than eight months to hear that it "survived" the competitive re view process. "This is a very exciting time for biology, with rapid progress being made at all levels from molecules to whole ecosystems, from evolu tionary origins to human behavior," Roberts said in an e-mail. Roberts, who has been conducting cell research at the University for 13 years, said the study is aimed at gaining a better understand ing about how people hear and see, adding that it could have im plications for treating or preventing cell trauma. Through studies of how cells process calcium signals, encode minute time delays be tween the two ears and pinpoint the origin of a sound, Roberts said he hopes to better understand the human nervous system. Turn to GRANT, page 5 WEATHER INSIDE NEXT ISSUE iiiun 49 Campus buzz.6 Classifieds.11 Commentary..2 Crossword.11 Horoscope.10 Sports.7 A look at the methods students use to cheat
