By Zach Pavlosky | Editor-in-Chief
A poster outlining Mount Wachusett Community College’s Academic Honesty Policy, including the definition of plagiarism.
Dean of Students Jason Zelesky and Creative Writing professor Michelle Valois have worked in education long enough to understand the ramifications of plagiarism and have, accordingly, adopted beliefs as to why they think students resort to such an act and how to quell it.
When asked about the severity of plagiarism, Zelesky firmly stated that “It is a form of academic dishonesty and a formal example of cheating.” He said plagiarism can be a “challenging concept” for some professors to tackle due to the different ways that a student could plagiarize.
“Technology has changed our ability to recognize plagiarism,” said Zelesky, noting that the use of electronic devices during a test has become more prevalent than simply glancing at someone else’s paper.
A student, who wished to remain anonymous, admitted to cheating during a math midterm by getting answers from his phone. “I didn’t see the harm,” the student said.
In the 16 years that Valois has been teaching English courses, she has only had one experience with a student who plagiarized material. An entire poem was printed from the internet and the student turned it in, claiming it as their own work. The poem was instantly recognized by another student.
“The poem wasn’t even that good,” said Valois. “The internet has made plagiarism very easy, but it has also made plagiarism easier to detect.”
Valois was alluding to Safe Assign, an internet-based system used through Blackboard that sends a submitted paper through the Global Reference Database and formulates a percentage based on the likelihood of whether the submitted work was plagiarized or not.
A student, identified as “T”, said he/she was tempted to plagiarize an English paper but chose not to because of Safe Assign. “Having to check the Safe Assign box on Blackboard is the only reason I wrote that paper,” the student said.
Valois’s plagiarism policy for her Creative Writing class states, “Using the words of someone else without giving credit is plagiarism. Students who cheat or plagiarize will receive an ‘F’. According to Valois, a student who is caught plagiarizing “won’t flunk the course” but “will flunk the assignment.” A first-time offender will flunk the assignment but will be let off with “a warning” as far as further action from a higher authority goes. However, they will flunk the course if they are a “repeat offender.”
Zelesky said that he has seen plagiarism go down “significantly” in the 20 years that he has been teaching and working with students.
When asked why he thinks some students turn to plagiarism, Zelesky said “being busy” and “stress” are factors. “I understand that, but I challenge that the work is still important,” said Zelesky.
Valois echoed Zelesky’s sentiments, saying, “I think it’s time…Many of these students have families, jobs and social lives outside of school.” She also thinks that some students “sell themselves short” and “just want the grade.”
Valois believes that plagiarizing should be a learning experience for the offender stressing that, if caught, it shouldn’t be “just about punishment” but also “about education.” If a student is caught plagiarizing, Valois maintains that it is more important to teach that student why what they did is wrong rather than punishing them outright.
Like Valois, Zelesky stands resolute in the belief that all students deserve a second chance. Zelesky stressed that being caught plagiarizing isn’t always a “do or die” situation. “I’m a fan of looking for opportunities for students to learn and grow,” said Zelesky. “Most cases are accidental and maybe 25 percent are complete laziness.”
Zelesky believes that talking with students about plagiarism, teaching proper citation, and working with tutors can help them avoid pitfalls. “For some students, it’s just a matter of unlearning bad behavior from high school,” said Zelesky. “The stakes only get higher,” warned Zelesky.
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