Affront to Academic Integrity. Coming

¶ … affront to academic integrity. Coming from a Latin word meaning to kidnap or steal, plagiarism usually refers to passing off someone else's words or ideas as one's own. However, copying and pasting text from a Web site or writing verbatim from an encyclopedia is not the only type of plagiarism. Plagiarism may also refer to using someone else's core ideas without giving proper credit. A student who plucks off a Master's thesis from an old database of papers would also be committing plagiarism and academic fraud. Preventing plagiarism from a student's standpoint is relatively simple. Citing all sources used and especially offering in-text citations or footnotes for borrowed or paraphrased passages is the easiest way to avoid plagiarism. Students who are unfamiliar with the rules of academic citations can seek assistance in their school's library or from a professor or a writing tutor. Professors can strictly enforce rules regarding academic integrity when a student is caught plagiarizing but ultimately the responsibility rests with the student.

Technology is having a dual effect on plagiarism. On the one hand, new media like the Internet makes it easy for students to cut and paste whole blocks of text from Web sites and insert that text into their own essays. On the other hand, technology has also been developed to prevent students from copying and pasting readily from Web sites. software that scans the Internet and Web sites like Turnitin.com are making plagiarism harder to get away with.

Yet students may also be inadvertently plagiarizing their work from Web sites and other sources. For example, a student might browse the Internet or their library for reference material, not intending to steal someone else's ideas or words. Subconsciously, the student could let other people's words and theories creep into their work. Without realizing what they have done, the student will have pulled ideas from their sources because what they read so thoroughly sank into their heads. Therefore, when students do research for academic papers they should always be sure to notate each and every source consulted. Doing so seems tedious but will ultimately prevent problems associated with plagiarism including personal humiliation and being expelled from school.

The concept of plagiarism can be extended to encompass a broad range of unethical practices. Related to plagiarism is student use of pre-written term papers or essays they purchase online from Web sites or from private offices. In fact, many term paper vendors do not charge for some of the papers they offer and students on a budget can easily avail themselves of such subversive academic services. The Internet is almost as infested with term paper vendor sites as it is with pornography sites, demonstrating how pervasive the problem of plagiarism is and how the Internet facilitates some forms of academic fraud.

Plagiarism is also not limited to academia. Prominent artists, musicians, scientists and journalists have been caught and convicted of stealing other people's ideas. The problem is so severe that the legal system is having a hard time catching up with the culprits to protect the intellectual property of citizens. Intellectual property law addresses issues like downloading music for free using peer-to-peer software. Those digital music files can also be used as a form of plagiarism: such as when a musician samples work without offering proper credit. Copying another artist's work and then selling the new product is a visual arts version of plagiarism. Authors whose books closely resemble the works of others are often shunned. Jessica Seinfeld, wife of the famous comedian, was sued for plagiarism, proving also that celebrities are not immune to the act nor to being prosecuted for it. Jerry Seinfeld made light of the matter, defending his wife against what he tritely termed "vegetable plagiarism," (cited by CNN and the Associated Press, 2007). Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook reportedly contains ideas that were simultaneously published in another cookbook related to helping children eat more vegetables. Although the Seinfelds deny the accusations, plagiarism is certainly no joke.

Science is also not immune from the plague of plagiarism. Even at the most erudite departments at the nation's most prestigious universities, plagiarism is a problem. In 2005, an associate professor of biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the most reputable institutions in the country, was fired for "fabricating data," (Cook & Bombardieri 2005). A high-profile "celebrity psychiatrist" who worked for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was recently suspended from practicing medicine because he was caught "passing off other scholars' work as his own," including four research papers and a book (Batty 2008). Moreover, the psychiatrist "admitted plagiarism but denied his actions were dishonest and liable to bring his profession into disrepute," (Batty 2008). The psychiatrist, Raj Persaud, claimed that he was "in a confused mental state at the time due to the stress he was under to meet publishing deadlines," as if stress were a plausible excuse for stealing someone else's work (Batty 2008).

Being under stress is no excuse for stealing other people's work, just as being under stress is no excuse for stealing other people's personal belongings. Students who feel that their deadlines cannot be met need only be honest with their academic advisors and professors. Stress is a serious problem that can lead to major health issues, and professors should be sympathetic. If professors claim that they will flunk the student if the deadline is not met, the student should report the incident to their Dean. Ultimately education is about learning and intellectual growth, not about making students' lives miserable. If academic institutions are becoming so rigorous as to be inhumane then deep changes to the educational system are necessary.

Rationales for plagiarizing people's work range from "I was under stress" to "I don't care about the class" to "I don't speak English well enough to write." Each of the excuses students -- or professionals -- use is spurious. Being under stress is no excuse to act unethically. A criminal can use stress to claim that beating his wife was necessary and excusable because of stress; a murderer can claim that stress provoked him or her. Stress is therefore a ridiculous reason to offer for stealing someone else's work and passing it off for one's own. If Persaud would have flunked out of school, then perhaps he was not deserving of his advanced degree to begin with. Acting unethically should never be an option, especially for a person who hopes to treat people for mental illnesses like Persaud. Ironically, the psychiatrist could not find adequate means of stress reduction and resorted to plagiarism instead of yoga or meditation.

I don't care" is another common claim among cheaters. For example, a medical student might plagiarize his or her way through an English course because their major is medicine and not Milton. Their personal perspectives on the relevance of the English class to their chosen profession is completely irrelevant, though. The medical student is obliged to take the required courses toward the fulfillment of his or her degree. If meeting those requirements seems like too much work, then the student might not be ready to graduate, let alone take on the enormous responsibilities of working fourteen hours straight in a hospital. All students come across classes or learning exercises they have trouble with or do not resonate with on a personal level. Dealing with classes they dislike is a sign of mental and emotional maturity; resorting to plagiarism instead is a sign of moral degradation.

Students whose first language is not English (or whatever language they take their courses in) may defend plagiarism as the only way by which they can pass their classes. A non-native language speaker might be the smartest student in the class or even in the school. Language, especially written language, could be that student's only weak point. Frustrated by the possibility that they might fail in spite of a command of the subject matter, students often plagiarize. Buying their papers from a third-party vendor is a common way for non-English speakers to fake their way through essays and term papers. However, many professors are understanding. Students sometimes underestimate how compassionate their professors are when it comes to recognizing language as a barrier to communication. Penalizing someone for not being a good writer in a second or third language is no way to motivate and inspire students. Therefore, professors should grade their non-native English speaking students differently when they read their essays so that those students are discouraged from plagiarizing. Students who feel embarrassed for their lack of full command of the language would feel less pressure and would be far less likely to cheat than they would be to write in their own voice. However broken their English, students can always find writing tutors to help them spruce up their work and improve their language abilities.

It is possible that academia pressures its students too much, so much that plagiarism seems a plausible solution. Perhaps medical students should not be forced to take English classes, and maybe art majors should not be made responsible for a science credit. Persaud might have been under such duress as to plagiarize because the school and his professors placed an insurmountable amount pressure on him. Plagiarism, Persaud probably thought, was the only way to succeed and accomplish his dreams. Yet until the rules of the game change, players are obliged to obey them or else risk their personal and professional integrity.

Preventing plagiarism depends on four main factors. First, students should resist plagiarizing at all costs. This means that students need to be honest with their friends, their family members, their professors, and their deans. When under extreme pressure or in an academic predicament; when they feel like they might fail a course unless they steal someone else's ideas, students need to come clean. Students who are honest about their situations are more likely to earn their professors' respect than those who cheat. Friends and family members are likely to support the student by placing their own pressure on the professor to ease up on the work load. Alternatively, friends, family members, and tutors can assist the struggling student with their coursework so that plagiarism is no longer necessary. Regardless of how the student chooses to tackle their academic pressures, cheating should never be an option. Instead, students need to empower themselves by taking pride in whatever they do even if it means handing in work written in broken English.

Second, professors should become more tolerant of their students and understanding of the pressures they are under. A professor who senses that a large portion of their students might be plagiarizing should question their teaching methods. Asking the class as a whole whether the work load is too heavy is a helpful way to gauge student stress. Professors should always take their students' opinions seriously and not teach using authoritarian methods. if, however, a professor determines that only one or two bad seeds are spoiling a field of otherwise stellar students, then a different approach should be taken. The professor can speak to the students on a one-on-one basis without using an accusatory tone and without embarrassing them. Instead of pointing fingers, professors should first find out why the student might be plagiarizing. Stress, boredom, and not knowing English well are three possible reasons.

Offering the student an alternative way to prove their merit in the class is a reasonable method to prevent plagiarism and still ensure student retention of knowledge. Especially in college, students take courses for their own personal development. If the professor learns that the student does not care about the class, he or she should react in a calm manner and not take offense. Many students fulfill their academic requirements begrudgingly and the professor would do well to recall his or her own experiences to become more empathetic. Failing students because of suspected or proven plagiarism should be done sparingly and only in extreme circumstances.

Third, much of what is labeled plagiarism is inadvertent such as improper use of citations or subconscious grabbing of other people's ideas. Professors should be sympathetic to students who might not be aware of their transgressions and help them devise better study habits. A key way of preventing plagiarism in academic settings is teaching young students how to properly cite sources, how to draw ideas from what they read without stealing them, and how to distinguish between what needs to be cited and what does not. Penalizing students for plagiarizing when they have not been taught properly is simply not fair. Teaching students young, such as in middle school, might be important. Suddenly thrusting the rules of academic integrity onto college students is a sure way to overwhelm them. College students should have already learned how to avoid plagiarism by the time they matriculate.

Fourth, preventing plagiarism on a professional level requires more stringent methods because professionals are held to higher standards than students. Psychiatrists who plagiarized in graduate school like Pernaud might act with the utmost integrity in their current professional lives and should not necessarily be penalized severely for their past acts. Suspending Pernaud likely damaged his reputation and possibly his future career in media. if, however, Pernaud was caught plagiarizing someone else's ideas in a journal article he wrote now then suspension would be warranted.