Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / Nov. 1, 2001, edition 1 / Page 14
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Page 14 Focus Nov.l, 2001 Student letters offer insight into plagiarism violations Jennifer Guarino Managing Editor Elon 101 advisors give freshmen letters written by Elon students who committed an honor code violation. These letters are poi gnant and effective in bringing the serious message of plagiarism to students. Two themes present themselves in honor code vio-. lations - students do not know how to prop erly cite sources or they plagiarize by cut ting comers. One student wrote in the letter to Elon 101 groups, “I cut comers in a class to try to save time and it caught up to me in the long mn. I panicked and looked for an easy way out. I found an article on the Web that pertained to my paper selection. I figured as long as I documented it on my works cited page, I could copy it and hand it in... While I thought I was in the clear the whole time, it turned out to be a disaster a few days later.” Jessica Gisclair, assistant professor of communications, has reported students for honor code violations. “By reading a paper, most professors can determine if it is the stu dent’s thoughts and assessments,” she said. Professors also use Web sites that search docu ments, books, journals and newspapers. The student was asked to come to the Aca demic Affairs office after the professor sus pected there was an honor code violation. “There was no talking out of this one,” the stu dent wrote. “I had never cheated in school be fore. I was scared all of my hard work was for nothing because I was going to get expelled. By telling the tmth and admitting to cheat ing, I was given another chance to finish col- Editor’s Note: A couple weeks ago the issue of plagiarism was vividly brought to my attention. I was informed that one of the articles I had printed in my section was plagiarized word for word. I decided to take this opportunity to educate and enlighten others about this issue, which is important to us all. - Katie Bonebrake lege. My honor and integrity was shattered. I apologized to my professor for what I had done.” The student failed the course and was placed on academic probation. “Using someone else’s work as your own is immoral,” the student wrote. “I learned the hard way.” Other students coinmit honor code viola tions because they do not know how to prop erly cite sources. A student who transferred to Elon as a second semester freshman wrote in a letter to Elon 101 groups, “When I came here, I was handed a student handbook and told to read it. I saw what was written about the Honor Code... To tell the truth I did not read much farther than that. I knew what was in volved in the Honor Code and did not read the detailsjn the handbook... In my classes at Elon, I have never really been taught all the details on how to cite sources...” “Many of our students don’t know how to write. They don’t understand writing style,” Gisclair said, referring to APA, MLA and Chi cago styles. “They don’t understand how to prove their point. They have trouble support ing a premise.” The student worked on a group paper, in which each member wrote a section. Each person created an error that was defined as plagiarism. “I think the problem was lack of education,” the student wrote. “None of us really knew how to properly cite a source and which parts needed to be cited. When I learned that we were ac cused of plagiarism, I was outraged.” The college writing curriculum provides in- stmction for writing research papers, but Gisclair says plagiarism is a nationwide trend. Students at the other schools she taught at previously had simi lar problems. “It’s doesn’t fall on just the English department It falls on every professor not teach ing logical reasoning.” The student’s letter was intended to teach oth ers the costs of improper citation. “.. .Carefully read the student handbook, especially the part about the Honor Code,” the student wrote. ‘T)o not just skim over it like I did because you will miss some valuable information.” Gisclair said when students have a question about writing or the honor code; they should ad dress their professor or go to the Writing Center. “Some people see the honor code as a punish ment, she ^d. “The Honor Code is a guide. It shows the way to ethical behavior, a way to make decisions not a punishment.” Gisclair is concerned that students do not have the skills needed to be successful. “Writing is one of the foremost ways we leam to communicate,” she said “If we can’t write, how can we expect to communicate?” Vlistakes should be ground for education, not punishnient John Kline Guest Columnist Across the academic spec trum, there are few evils worse than plagiarism. It is a blatant show of disrespect toward col leagues, fellow students, experts, professors and everyone else connected with the academic world Many people believe that even in cases of accidental pla giarism, such as a poor paraphrasing, no le niency should be shown. As horrible an act as plagiarism is, it should never be condoned; however, there must be a line drawn somewhere. The pur pose for the condemnation of plagiarism is to protect the intellectual property of the origi nal authors, not to penalize those who may not know tiie rules conceming paraphrasing,: were too tiled to edit, or were too late to go to the Writing Center. Is it not understandable that a student might forget to cite a quotation at 4 a.m. when they are typing? Picture it now, sitting at your computer with books and computer printouts all around, quoting the article in fkwEit of you and getting distracted for a moment. Sitting back down amidst hours-worth of thorough research and proceeding with the paper; the quote goes non-cited and unnoticed, For this slight mistake, an Elon student stands at risk of being suspend^ or even expelled 1 am sorry, but this does not seem right, I believe it should be the goal of this institu tion to motivate students to woric to iheir maxi mum potential. Yet we have policies that, witli one single editing mistake, could not only dc- mcjralize astwcfent, but destroy his academic ca- reeraswe^; How Eton plan to have theii piiedtHis leader emeige into the world when they are taught that the slightest mistake causes tctol, almost unfatanable failure? Are we try- ingto create people who believe that the slight est mistake is damrang, that notitog should be CHT can be forgiven? I assure you ftiis is ncA ftte case. However, rigid policies such as these do nothing , to deter those who would willingly commit such vile acts, and they are more effec tive in destroying the motivation of those vic tims of accidents. A single error and off you go, whisked away to the dungeon to await your tribunal be fore the dreaded Honor Council. And you stand-before them, your stom ach in knc^, yours palms sweating uncontrolla bly, and your entire fiiture is han^g in the bal ance, just waiting for the axe to drop. Even if you are one of the few found innocent of these chaiges, the damage has been done. The accu sation of plagiarism and the record of trial will stand forever. The honor code Elon students are bound by, whether signed on every paper we tum in or not, states that we swear that we did not lie, cheat or steal. If a mistake is found that the student was unaware of, then is a professor’s Job to send him before the firing squad pr to explain to him what is wrong? Prohibiting plagiarism is done to protect the intellectual property of the innocent, not to weed out the guilty. Therefore, the penal ties for plagiarism, I feel, are blown well out of proportion. Rather than threaten students with expulsion, would it not be wiser to teach them what they did wrong, why it is wrong and how to avoid it? If someone downloads a paper from the fotemet, or copies some thing wcard for word froni a book or other resource, ^en they should be punished. But circumstances unknown to most are gener ally at hand when events like these occur, I say, do not immediately threaten the end of tfieir academic career, but r^er t^e the op portunity to change thek ways. TTtie goal of professors should be to help those minds de- velqp not tear them down for simple mistakes. Do not threaten students’ academic careerfor a lack of revision, but rather give them the necessary guidance to fully develop. Next Week's Focus Topic: North vs. South If you are interested in writing an article or have any suggestions for future topics call x72i7 or e-mail Katie,Bonebrake@elomedu
Elon University Student Newspaper
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Nov. 1, 2001, edition 1
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