Broward Community College - Silver Sands Yearbook (Fort Lauderdale, FL)

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4 fi I .' 5 Undergraduate Student Govern- ment at the University of Miami, made this comment: We've had no cases of a good student ever cheating. Those who do cheat, usually do it from necessity-such as a football player trying to maintain his grade point average. Some of the instructors at JCBC believe that a majority of students do cheat or would cheat. One of these instructors said, Half of my students cheat now and if I gave them a chance, the rest of them would, too. Other instructors have said that, Not many students resist the temptation to cheat, and Everyone would cheat if they weren't afraid of getting caught. There are instructors, though, who feel, College students are usually a pretty good lot and can be trusted to make the best decision. The students themselves have varying views on cheating. Some will admit to having resorted td cheating in order to pass a course but others maintain that it isn't worth cheating just to get a grade. They feel that getting an educa- tion is the basis for college work and cheating on an exam doesn't help them to learn anything, but just takes away from their self- respect. One student said, It is a terri- ble experience to know the answer to an exam question but not be able to think of it. This is the time when a person is most likely to look on another person's paperf' A sophomore at JCBC said, Cheating is a despicable practice. If you have to cheat to pass a course, you shouldn't be taking it in the first place. Other students say that cheat- ing is merely a means to get out of school. The faster you pass a course, the less time you have left in school. I'd do just about any- thing to pass, including a little cheating on the side. There are various types of

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CHEATI G GRUWIHG UULLEGIHTE PHUBLEW ITH twenty-three min- utes left of the final ex- amination, student 32502 his watch. Exactly seven minutes later he stood up, walked to the front of the room, and turned in his paper. The instruc- tor took it, glanced over it, and tore it up. This hapless student had tried one of the many ingenious meth- ods of cheating that students use everyday in American classrooms. Unfortunately for the student, his instructor was both observant and well advised. Still, colleges are faced with the ever increasing problem of cheating. The ways of cheating are many and varied. This particular stu- dent had inserted a minute scroll inside his watch and had replaced the crystal with a magnifying lens. Thus, by simply winding his watch the student obtained the wound pertinent answers needed to pass the exam. Other methods of cheating range from simple crib sheets to elaborate earphone devices. A standard joke among students is that of taking an exam while turning the pages of an open text book. As ludicrous as this may seem, it has been tried. One popular method is lining a clear plastic cartridge pen with paper containing the necessary formulas or answers. Writing on clothing and hands, although a tried and true method, has its set- backs-the ink can smear and the writing can be easily seen by the instructor. The way that works best but requires the most in- genuity is to obtain a copy of the exam before it is given. This isn't often feasible in large universities, but it can sometimes be done in small colleges. The main problem By PAT HART with this method is trying to re- member all the answers, not to mention all the hazards involved while trying to get the exam in the first place. Writing on desk tops or on lap boards can supply a few short answers which may save the day, or if caught, may cost the whole course. The reasons for cheating are as many and varied as the methods. Mr. Neil Crispo, the new director of student activities, feels that much of the cheating in American schools is caused by the idea of competing with one's self. He be- lieves that some of this cheating could be done away with if, We could put education on a basis of competing with each other. If it's a choice between you and the other person, you will always come first. Tom Spencer, president of the 19

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cheating and some students have morals about only a few. One student wouldn't consider copying on an exam, but was willing to turn in a friendls term paper as her own just to avoid the work of research and writing. One stu- dent commented, If the assign- ment isn't really important, then it really isn't important if you cheat. With TV classes and IBM grading, some students hold that they are trying to beat a system set up against them. The feeling of personal contact in classrooms has been lost and now the student says, f'It is only a machine that I am cheating. It doesn't really matter. The majority of the students asked, however, felt that cheating had no place in college life. They said that cheating would hurt their education and hinder their own progress through school. There are many ways of deal- ing with a student that has been caught cheating. At JCBC, no set policy is followed. Dr. Taylor, Dean of Students, said, We don't 15 Z . .1 like to set a policy. We prefer to leave it up to the individual in- structorf' Y This college, of course, frowns on cheating, but offers no penal- ties by a set standard. The indi- instructor can take what he sees fit. Sometimes this vidual action means a failing grade in a course or an assignment, sometimes it means re-doing the assignment. When a student cheats on an exam, it may be explained to him why he received a failing grade or it might just come to be an understanding between himself and his instructor. This lack of policy leads to misunderstandings, sometimes, but leaves the instruc- tors more freedom in their own control of the classroom. The University of Miami has an Honor Court that meets in pri- vate and deals with all problems of cheating. The Court is made up of ten members of the ad- ministration, faculty and student body, combined. All of their de- cisions are kept from public knowledge. A student caught cheating at the University of Florida also goes to court. This court however, is made up entirely of students and operates under the laws of the Florida State Constitution. A trial is held and a verdict is given by a jury of students. The usual punishment is a number of penal- ty hoursf' Penalty hours are academic hours required above the usual number for graduation. When these penalty hours are completed and the student is eligi- ble for a degree, all the records of his cheating are removed from his file and nothing remains to tell anyone that he was ever caught cheating. There are numerous other ways to penalize cheating. Expulsion or mandatory withdrawal from school are two. Unfortunately. such in- cidents can become common knowledge and can do considera- ble harm to both students and instructors. No matter how it is handled, students realize, as one girl said, If you cheat, you take the chance. If you get caught. you should pay the penalty. ' . N, .,-' li il : i I f .ff V , , . ,wg . -il V -,A-5: ' -ug 'Q 1 B , qv . 'lk