The following ethical dilemma appears in Randy Cohen's The Good, the Bad and the Difference. After reading the passage, offer your own advice. You may include in your response what others have said on this blog. Be sure that you justify your response.
A college student called me last week to say that his "friend" had visited my web page, lifted something I wrote, and turned it in as his own work. Now his "friend's" professor is suspicious and plans on searching the web to find the material. If the professor finds that the paper was plagiarized, he will recommend expulsion. The student begged me to take the paper off my site, fearing that his "friend's" academic career, and possibly his life, will be ruined. What should I do?
16 comments:
Although the outcome is extremely sorry for the student, it is not the author's responsibility to assist him. It is in no way the fault of the author to delete the paper from the website, the student should not have lifted the text in the first place. I believe that it is an even bigger insult to the student (and the author for that matter) to delete the paper, as it validates the notion that plagiarism is not a crime. The author should offer his apologies to the student and thank him (as they say "Imitation is the highest form of flattery"). Additionally, it is possible that the professor will not succeed in finding the plagiarized text, so the student may have some hope for his future. Although he will ultimately feel guilty in whichever decision he or she makes, the author has no fault in the consequences that might befall the student.
I would just leave the paper on the website. The person would not be helping anyone by taking it off because the student would just continue what he was doing. In fact, I might even anonymously send the professor the link to the website. If the student couldn’t be bothered to write his own piece, then why should he get credited for something that another person wrote? It may sound harsh, but people need to learn to do their own work. Great writers like Charles Dickens and Jane Austen did not plagiarize their literary works; people today should learn to write for themselves. There is still plenty of new material to be covered in the world; people are just too lazy to think for themselves. If the student was having trouble writing about the topic he could have found his professor or another student to discuss the paper with so that he had a clearer idea or figured out what he wanted to write, but chances are that he could not have cared less about the paper and ran out of time to write it, so he just cut and pasted something that he found online and claimed it as his own. People need to learn to do their own work and if this student is expelled for plagiarism, maybe it will set an example to others.
I believe he should take down the paper because it really does not affect his life but it affects the students. The paper can always be put back up at a later date but the students life cannot be rebuilt so easily. The man should take the paper off his site and warn the student to never do such a thing again. The owner of the paper should tell his friend to warn the student as well. This dilemma has not been hitherto unknown. I however have never come across a situation such as this one and this is merely my opinion on this dilemma. I know close to nothing about ethics and am not saying i am correct. I am just guessing what the right thing to do is.
This IS an ethical dilemma. It proposes two valid points that are acceptable to two different parties, but choosing one correct answer is extremely difficult. One of the two options at hand is to take the paper off the website. This will temporarily remove the plagiarist from trouble. Yes, I said plagiarist because if it wasn’t “cheating” then he would not be worried about possibly being exposed. Though it is a temporary removal from trouble, bailing him out may create future problems for you. This act will ensure whose “team” you are on and make him more susceptible to emotionally blackmail you or someone else in order to take the easy way out of a project.
The other option is to NOT take the paper off the website and expose a friend for the wrong he has committed. In a minimal percentage of friendships, the friend realizes you represent his best interests and will forgive you. In most situations, the friend whom should consider you a well-wisher would consider you the bane of his existence. On a positive note, it prevents further susceptibility for future acts of the sort, at least those involving you.
My response would be to NOT bail him out for the paper and saving expulsion. I would then try to talk to him and explain the seriousness of his actions and the future consequences. I would clearly note that I will not be taking further part in this action, and will DEFINITELY report it if I hear it occurs involving him again. In conclusion, I’d also establish that I am only trying to help, if he may not realize it now.
Personally, I would give the kid a second chance just because everybody makes mistakes whether large or small. This mistake does happen to be rather large and should not be repeated. This is why I believe you should put it to this kids friend not to do it again and hold the paper off just to make sure this act is not repeated. You could also just forget a bout the whole thing and blow it off like it was nothing. Always a possibility. But of course we as human beings must conform to what society tells us is right and wrong and as adults we must abide. This is a confusing topic because we are taking standpoints not only from two different people with different ways of life, but of different age groups. The part of your brain which allows for good judgement does not develop until around the age of 21 for your average human being. For some this may be later than others or even earlier. This is a huge factor of why teens tend to act alone and not think then act. This could have also been a factor in his decision. Overall I believe that this kid should be given a second chance due to the fact that it is not entirely his fault due to the fact that a part of his brain may not be fully developed. As well is mine not fully developed. So I am very well able to level with him.
I do not believe that the paper should be lifted from the internet. Although it would be EASY to take the paper off and put it up at a later date, it is not RIGHT. The person did make a mistake by plagiarizing, but it was his decision and now he must deal with the consequences. Everyone does make mistakes, but in order to learn from the mistake, one must be punished and deal with the outcome of the decision. Also, this person knows that what he did was wrong because the warnings of plagiarism are clear throughout anyone's academic life. The friend knew that he was taking a risk by stealing, and he has to deal with his conscience and expulsion. Now, not only did he make the initial wrong ethical decision to cheat, but now he is trying to take the easy way out by putting his friend in the difficult position. The student’s lack of consideration for the author by plagiarizing without citation should be doubly repaid by the author leaving his or her original work on the website. The author may be tempted to take the paper off the internet because it is easy and would help out a friend, but it would be hurting the author’s own moral standards. Additionally, it would be hurting his or her friend because the friend would not learn anything from the mistake. I suggest that the author keep the paper up and let the friend deal with the possible consequences of his actions.
Even though the student has plagiarized and cheated on his assignment, I would still take off my own works on my website to prevent him from getting caught. In some ways I would feel honored that he thought my paper to be acceptable enough for his own work. Although plagiarizing is bad, I would feel guilty that I had been the cause of his academic failure and the downward turn of his new “destroyed life.” The plagiarizer would learn from this mistake and I would think that he or she would never do it again because of the fear of getting caught in suspicion again. Also, if my friend begged me to take it off, I would not have the heart to turn them down, and take off my paper from the website.
Well, I for one think that they should take the paper off the website. The student may have had a rough week and needed to do this assignment or he would fail the class. Plagiarism is not something that should be done, we all know that, but we all have done it at least once in our lives. Yes, we have, do not even try to say to no. Have you ever said something from a poem or from a song or just something you heard on tv and you did not say the source from which it came, therefore saying it is yours? That is plagiarism, is it not? Also, the student's parents have most likely payed a lot of money for their son or daughter to get into this college and getting expelled for something like plagiarizing one paper, is silly. Also, the students life can change dramatically from getting expelled. If the paper is taken off of the internet it can always be put back on later, or if it is the student's first time plagiarizing and is caught, I believe they should be given a warning first. If he does it again then yes he should get expelled for being so stupid as to do it again after being warned of the consequences. Therefore, i believe that the student should not be expelled and the paper should be taken off the internet and possibly put back on later if the author chooses to do so.
If I were you, I would leave it up. I do not know why the student would ever do something. If he did this in high school, I have no idea how he ever got away with it. This is college, he has to tighten up. Plagiarism is illegal and he should be punished for committing this crime. What I think this student should do, is talk to his professor before he does his investigation. If he confesses to him, he has a better chance of just getting a zero rather than getting kicked out of school. If you were to help him by deleting your work off the internet, you would be an accomplice to his crime. Why would you ever, as a teacher, allow a student to seat your work? It is immoral. The student has to realize though, that if he gets expelled, that it was his and only his fault for this consequence. He chose to do this and no one should have pity for him. It was the wrong thing to do in my opinion.
You should leave the paper on the website. Because, if this friend really wanted to protect his academic career, then he would have made the call himself. Perhaps, it was a joke set up by both the professor and the student to show the other students what the consequences of plagiarism are like. It could be that the college student that called was playing a cruel prank. The possibilities are endless. You cannot know something is for certain without inquiring about it and obtaining information about it first, because the only thing you can be absolutely sure of is what is going on in your own head, not somebody else’s. The college student jumped to conclusions without asking the plagiarist about his true intentions. One must make certain that all sides of the conflict are investigated.
Also, the college student that called most probably thinks that he is doing a favor for his friend by taking such drastic actions, if indeed the student really did copy the paper. And if you were to conform to his pleads and do as he says, that would also encourage him to take control of other people’s lives and make important, life-changing decisions for them. This, if left untamed, can wind up to something dangerous like messing up somebody else’s life. Nothing is for certain. Hence, you should leave the paper up there and wait for time to take the wheel.
Although it is a very difficult dilemma, realistically, the action that anyone would take towards that I think is obvious. #1 leaving the paper on the website is almost a hundred percent chance of the professor finding it; because, the colleges pay hundreds of dollars for soft wares that detect plagiarism (papers that are lifted off any kind of network). #2 if the paper does not get taken off the website, no one will suffer from any consequences. Although the kid that put the paper on the website will be helping someone to do something wrong, he still will save him from a lot of trouble. #3 on the hand, if the paper gets taken off the website, the student that plagiarized will be saved from a lot of trouble, and at the same time will have more ability to listen to advise if someone actually sits with him and shows him how to write a paper properly and tells him that if plagiarism works once it is not going to work all the time.
The question is, do you remove your essay from the website? Of course you do. In this case, you might be caught providing materials for the plagiarist, and thus be lumped in with him. For your safety as well as the safety of your friends, you would remove the post. This is a matter of looking out for yourself as well.
As for the friend, sure, he stole your paper, but why did you post the material in the first place? Anything on the internet can and will be stolen, and should not be done.
As for ethics, if you tell the teacher what happened, he may question why you did this and get suspicious at all of your work. If the students find out what you did, you may never receive help ever again, as you would be labeled as a snitch and a person who refuses to help other fellow students.
As for your friend, he will continue to do so until he is caught. He plays his own risk reward game, and let him do what he so wishes.
If I were the author of the paper on the website, I would leave the paper on the website. This so called “friend” is not being loyal to the man who wrote the paper. If the author takes the paper off the website, then he might feel guilty or that he did something wrong. The student who cheated will most likely want to repeat his actions and do this again. He will take another paper off the site, and use the author for his work. He might not even be a true friend to the man. The author of the paper should realize what is going on and say something to the college student. The college student may try to deny this plagiarism, and go on with his life, and hope that he doesn’t get caught by the professor. The author of the paper should realize that if this college student is doing this, then he is not a very good friend.
If it was my choice, I would leave the paper up. If you do something wrong, you should expect that there will be consequences sooner or later. The student is in the wrong since they plagiarized. By taking the paper off the website, it only tells other people that people who take things that aren’t theirs won’t get punished for it. Even if the author of the paper gives the student a warning, the student might return to plagiarizing again. Sure, they might stop for a time because they feel guilty and panicked at maybe a narrow escape. But those feelings would pass over pretty quickly unless something drastic is done. Once that student is in another situation where they need a fast answer, they would most likely stoop to copying someone else’s paper again. Though most likely they will avoid the author of the paper that they had previously plagiarized from. The student would not have learned anything from that previous experience. What may be the easiest way is not always the right way.
This is a tough decision, as the student should not be plagiarizing in the first place. However, I believe that if the student came to him personally and begged him to take the paper off the site, the man should do it. This is because the man can always put his paper back up on the internet for others to access and taking his paper off the website does not affect the writer, but leaving it on does affect the student. The student, if caught, can be expelled and his future can be ruined. If he has to leave college, it would be very hard for him to start his life over and work without a college degree or have to go back to school. The man should advise the student to never do this again as it will jeopardize his future and this is his only warning. If I were the man I would do this action, however many people may not consider it to be the right thing to do. The student should learn that there are not always going to be people like this in the future and learn from his mistakes, as everyone does have fault. He should keep in mind that great success comes from hard work and he should not be taking the easy way out.
These are very good responses! As a teacher, and an ethical person, I do not think that the paper should be removed from the website. Hiding the original work also seems dishonest, and as we all know two wrongs don't make a right.
Perhaps the destruction of "his entire life" does not seem fitting for something that took a fraction of a second to cut and paste. However, a number of you brought up the point that the student would not learn his lesson (even though he should be aware of the consequences for his actions at this point in his academic career.)
If a university is a place where thinking is valued, then a deliberate attempt to subvert that value has to be answered with the logical consequence: the student did not value thinking, so he should not be in a place where this value is held in such high regard.
Again, these were all great responses! The next one will be slightly more difficult!
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