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

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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

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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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Being a critic is good for the ego. The critic is master of all in the field he surveys, and can praise or wither at will. I, for my part, cannot claim to be a literary expert, and so it seems perhaps presumptuous of me to judge the efforts of those who are far more talented than I. I read a great deal, both for knowledge and for pleasure, and I know what I like. On that perhaps flimsy basis are my opinions formed. There are times when I have goofed com- pletely, as when SHIP OF FOOLS, which I thought tedious, was a best seller. However, my views usually reflect those of others who have read the same books. My reviewing subjects are, because of our quarterly publish- ing schedule, not necessarily cur- rent. My choices are from the Best Seller list, from popular reprints, books much talked about, and ran- dom selections so good or so bad as to be worth reviewing. Let the reader beware. Topping the best seller list this summer was Arthur Haileyis HOTEL, a big novel with some- thing for everyone. Set in a large New Orleans hotel, this book goes behind the scenes of the hotel business through a variety of ap- pealing characters and situations. Central character in the related episodes is Peter McDermott, the efficient, young assistant manager, who has a blot on his record to live down, and two pretty girls to live up to. Peter must face a be- wildering series of crises that in- clude a racial incident, a hotel thief, a tipsy diplomat and his wife covering up for a crime, and 22 NN REVIEW hy Ann Bardsley a tragic accident. Minor crises and characters help to lend an authen- tic flavor to the business that read- ers of HOTEL will never again consider rather tame. HOTEL has an exciting climax and the traditional happy ending. It is an excellent choice for a long, lazy, Sunday afternoon. The current civil rights move- ment has inspired a host of books about the South and its racial crisis. Some of these volumes are excellent, while others are merely collected cliches by uninspired hacks. NVE SHALL OVERCOME, by Michael Dorman, will surely rank among the best non-fiction to come out of the social revolution taking place south of the Mason- Dixon line. Mr. Dorman is a re- porter for a New York newspaper and has been on the scene of all the southern integration crises dur- ing the year 1962-63. He does not claim to be unbiased, but does make a sincere effort at objectiv- ity. Most of the integration activ- ities of that year centered upon the college campus and, appropri- ately, the book opens upon the tragedy of Ole Miss and closes with the peaceful desegregation of the University of Alabama. Michael Dorman recreates that momentous year with an accuracy that keeps the reader on the edge of his seat. He goes behind the headlines and beneath the slogans. The Ole Miss riots are revealed in shocking detail, as are the fran- tic negotiations between Gover- nors Wallace and Barnett with the Department of justice. WE SHALL OVERCOME is an in-depth, reporter's eye view of a national crisis. Once begun it is hard to put down. Sober historians and gossip lov- ers alike will delight in Lillian Rogers Parks' MY THIRTY YEARS BACKSTAIRS AT THE WHITE HOUSE. This remarkable book, first published in 1961 and now reprinted in paperback, is an intimate glimpse into the White House and its occupants as seen by the maids, cooks and butlers who work there. Written in a lively, entertaining style, BACKSTAIRS AT THE VV HITE HOUSE surprises us with some goosepimply ghost stories about the spirits that haunt the, Presidential mansion, especially the rather well-documented ap- pearances of Abe Lincoln. The joys, sorrows, and idiosyncrasies of first families from Taft through Eisenhower are revealed through the eyes of the author, a White House seamstress, and her mother, who was head maid before her. Housekeeping problems, weird gifts like the scroll written in blood that one first lady received, parties, exotic guests, and visits by crackpots bringing personal griev- ances or messages from Cod are recalled by Mrs. Parks with wit and a trace of nostalgia. This fascinating memoir serves an added purpose. Every reader who has ever had an embarrassing experience-no matter how hor- rible--can feel comforted by the knowledge that his humiliation has been topped by the diplomat's wife who actually lost her satin panties in the presidential recep- tion line. MY THIRTY YEARS BACK- STAIRS AT THE WHITE HOUSE is well worth reading, and hard to forget.