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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