Summary And Analysis: A Question Of Honor

Cheating has always been an issue among students. Almost everyone cheats in some fashion in classes. Whether it’s by blatantly copying another student’s answers, or working together on an assignment meant to be done on your own, cheating will remain a staple occurrence in academic life. In Rebekah Nathan’s article, “The Art of College Management: Cheating,” Nathan (2005) delves into students’ various reasons for cheating and even includes cheating as an “aspect[] of student culture,” (p. 27) from the point of view of a student. Nathan defends cheating as a whole by including it as an inevitable part of student culture. Additionally, she claims that everyone cheats, further diving into the idea that cheating is not inherently wrong. As a result of consistently defending cheating, Nathan neglects to provide worthy solutions to the issue as well as ignoring the consequences of cheating.

Plagiarism is an increasing large issue on college campuses, a habit to most of the student. According to the article ‘’The Plagiarism Plague’’, the findings on the survey made to 50,000 students on more than 60 campuses was that 70 percent of the students admitted that they cheated. Half of the students surveyed admitted that one or more times made serious cheating on writing assignments, with 77 percent of the students surveyed said that cheating was not a serious issue.

Cheating used to be considered an unmentionable sin. However, in this day and age, it has become more common and somewhat of a daily occurrence. Cheating is more widespread today than in the past. According to the article titled Education: The New Morality, cheating has not been an issue of values, but simply one of practicality. This shows that many view cheating as a mere occurrence and something that can often be skipped over. The reason cheating has become such a pervasive movement is because many students tend to rationalize their cheating behavior. A common rationalization that many students use is, " That 's the only way I 'll get anywhere in life." Many students also tend to incorporate reasons, such as parental pressures,

Multiple studies have found that students are spending less time on their academic studies leading to a decrease in education and an increase in temptation of academic dishonesty.  Cheating has been prevalent since mankind existed, but writer William Chace gives his outlook on the issue in his article, “A Question of Honor”. Chace is able to use adequate reasoning to engage the reader in an article that depicts perspectives from every angle. Included within the article are a sense of sympathy, through explanations and even a proposed solution of how to end academic dishonesty.

As a student, the aftereffects of plagiarism usually occur in a common sequence. The first consequence begins with a verbal warning (“Honor Code”, 2012) and the next offense can come in the form of a written warning. After written warnings are given the guilty party can be suspended. However, consequences of plagiarism can be even further reaching. Suspension or expulsion from the university, or academic institution where research was taken place, can occur. Beyond these outcomes, recommendations for punishment can include counseling and community service (“Recognizing and Avoiding Plagiarism”).

As one begins to grasp the concept of Schroth’s (2012) article The Plagiarism Plague, it is easy to identify the author’s dissatisfaction for plagiarism and the negative connotations he has for someone who is involved in this heinous offense. He initiates and summarizes his commentary with personal stories of how plagiarism has affected him. Schroth offers several solutions for the copyright issue that is upon us; he states, “the sanction for plagiarism must be at least an F on the paper, accompanied by a letter in the student's file to be consulted if it happens again, with the understanding that a second offense would mean expulsion.” Schroth was also sure to mention the collective approach necessary from all educators for his solution to be implemented. He believes the “policy will be effective only with leadership from the president and full cooperation from the faculty.” The writer goes on to explain how plagiarism has become an epidemic in this society and the effects of its prevalence thereof. Although plagiarism has become rampant in this society, it is still immoral and unethical. College students continue to plagiarize however, because they refuse to regard their education as a top priority and it has become culturally acceptable for people to falsify information without any serious penalties for their dishonesty.

Over the years, cheating does not carry the same stigma it used to represent. Because of competition and expectations, students are doing whatever it takes to achieve an A average. There are students who are fighting for scholarships or for the position to be on the top. Also, parents and teachers are the root cause of this matter because they have advocated the idea that high GPAs will lead to more successful futures. As a result, grades have become the main focus for most students,

For many students, failure is not an option. Their need to succeed outweighs the risk of getting caught while cheating. In her article, “College Cheating: Success Above Honor”, Carla Rivera writes, “Studies find that students feel under more pressure than ever to succeed and increasingly see cutting corners

A policy created by school institutions is the honor-code, which prevents students from plagiarizing and cheating off one another. Among scholars, there’s a debate on whether this policy is still in appropriate use today. Acknowledging the issue is Susan Greenberg, a journalism instructor and writer for The Washington Post, and Lynn Morton, an English professor at Queens University of Charlotte. Through examination of the two authors, both provide insightful background about honor-code practices on college campuses. However, their evidence presents opposing points-of-view on the subject.

In “A Question of Honor” William m Chace writes about his concerns within the realm of universities around the country. Specifically, Chase is concerned with the decreased funding, declined learning and honor, and most importantly academic dishonestly. Chance begins with identifying some of the problems resulting in the diminishing state of the nation’s universities. In “A Question of Honor” Chace deliveries his viewpoint on how addressing the problem of academic dishonesty will propel the schools over these obstacles. Rising tuition leaves thousands of middle class and poorer students from applying to top schools.

According to Merriam-Webster, plagiarizing is defined as, “to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of

To some degree this true, in that plagiarizing words does take them from the mouth and mind of the original author, leaving them with an inability to utilize them until returned. In essence it is as Pettigrew (2010) indicates, “…taking the work of another and passing it off as your own is not that you’ve taken the work…you’ve passed it off as your own. Plagiarism, therefore, is not stealing. It’s counterfeiting.” On a penalty grid, counterfeiting hold a much stiffer penalty than simple theft, so perhaps this puts it in a better perspective.

The writer, Todd Pettigrew wrote the article “All your profs wrong about plagiarism,” explains that plagiarism takes the form of counterfeiting, which means to fake instead of stealing. Many college students result to piracy rather than to add in the work because they are lazy or desperate to succeed and rarely pay attention to the causes of cheating. Students who view plagiarism as counterfeiting may see nothing wrong with the crime because they fake their work instead of stealing another person’s own words. The scholar knows the system of cheating, acknowledges the consequences, and understands the crime; however, continues the offense because they want to pass the class. The two main ways to cheat consist of going online and blatantly stealing

In numerous colleges, students have minimal awareness about their honor codes and the punishments that correlate with violating that academic agreement. Susan Greenburg, author of “Why Colleges Should Ditch Honor Codes”, discusses the issues behind having an honor code and why colleges should no longer have this practice. She addresses the conflict in Stanford University, where students in a computer science class spring up attention on whether the code is still an appropriate use today. These students enrolled in the course were under questioning about their academic dishonesty and received harsh discipline in a class and future occupational field that involves collaboration with others daily. For some, the honor code is unfair considering

Many researchers have indicated that cheating is a serious problem on campuses (Bowers, 1964; Engler et al., 2008; Gallant, 2008; Leming, 1978; McCabe, Trevino, & Butterfield, 2001). Studies completed by Bowers (1964) and McCabe and Trevino (1996) revealed nearly identical results regarding student-cheating behavior despite the 30 year time span; both studies identified that