Cheating and Plagiarism Have Proliferated

Cheating and plagiarism have proliferated on collage campuses as well as high schools. The increasing incidence of cheating in school reflects an underlying breakdown of morals and ethics in American culture. Cheating has becoming commonplace in the worlds of business and politics: in the realms many students hope to work in after graduation. If the values of the culture condone cheating as a necessary means to achieve financial and career goals then college students are bound to cheat. College students are going to justify their cheating because cheating has become an acceptable means to an end.

Regardless of how tight their schedules are or how much pressure they might be under, some students refuse to cheat because their core values cannot be compromised. In an article published in the Fauman, the school newspaper of Florida a&M University, author Dadrian Robinson notes that "there is pressure to cheat on schoolwork" but "for some students this pressure is not a pressing issue." The reason for some students' refusal to cheat is rooted in their ascription to social values and morals. Whether based on religious beliefs, their personality, or on their family upbringing, students' decision to refrain from cheating is almost always a moral one.

On the other hand, students who choose to cheat embody the degradation of morals in Western culture. Winnail notes, "One of the most surprising developments of the last 50 years has been the dramatic shift away from Judeo-Christian moral values that provided the foundation of Western civilization." Winnail writes from a religious point-of-view, one that provides the author and those who agree with him the moral foundation to make ethical decisions. No matter what, cheating is morally wrong. Therefore, no student should cheat even when under pressure.

The problem is that the pressure to do well in school reflects the pressure to succeed financially. Especially during tough financial times, students will feel an acute need to earn the grade that will land them top jobs in their field or work full-time while attending classes full-time, or participate in extra-curricular programs to pad their resumes. Part of the problem with cheating in college is therefore not the fault of the student but of the culture itself. Cheating in school reflects the overall social pressure to be rich. If material gain is the number one priority in our culture, and the only way to obtain material gain is by overloading oneself with work, then at some point cheating becomes a necessary means to survive.

The breakdown of moral values in American society has led to a culture of commercialism and greed. Materialism is a potentially neutral force but maintaining a materialist worldview means making money a priority greater than acting ethically. In the World of Consumption, Ben Fine explores the relationship between materialist culture and morals. The very ground upon which our society is based, claims Fine, is one rich with opportunities to erode moral values.

Shulman found that cheating has not increased dramatically on college campuses over the past several decades, likely due to the relative stability of materialist values. Materialism flourished as a core ideal of American culture throughout the 20th century and most likely fueled the tendency to cheat in school. Moreover, the secularization of American society made it so that students were not inundated with the fear of spiritual retribution for cheating. It is highly likely that in a secular society cheating becomes easier, and more acceptable. However, religion may have nothing to do with the prevalence of morality in a society. Instead, social cohesion might be the key to creating and maintaining morality. Social pressures dictate social norms. If cheating is socially sanctioned then students are more likely to cheat. If peers pressure their friends to refrain from cheating such as by ostracizing cheaters, then cheating would be less prevalent. Regardless, cheating remains salient in American culture.