A tale of two cheaters

Joyce E. M.
Philosophy
September 1,2013

Plagiarism has become a problem in colleges where the faculty is often forced to take the necessary measures to avoid it. In “A Tale of Two Cheaters,” Rebecca who’s a freshman and an excellent student has plagiarized and received an F as a final grade for the course. Whereas, Nick a sophomore who studies at the same university as Rebecca, has plagiarize and he received a C as a final grade. Given the situation, I ‘am more Platonic and believe Nick and Rebecca’s punishment is unfair because of different policies.
Plagiarism is bad and considered illegal under law. It is unethical because the school is an example for teaching students to create their own work without copying another person’s work. Plagiarism is stealing. and getting punished because one is guilty is right.
It is better to fail an assignment than a course for plagiarism. When failing an assignment the student has time to process what he or she did by learning from mistake so as to avoid repeat it.
The school should have the same decisions concerning plagiarism for the purpose of fairness and justice. A school must have an identical policy and rules on plagiarism just like ASOY’s handbook where any student found plagiarizing has a fifty percent off. Getting the faculty to use the same policies creates a sense of equality for students. Everyone must be treated equally; no one should have more privileges than the other. Rebecca faces injustice because she’s treated differently from Nick despite that both have committed similar acts. Rebecca is severely punished while Nick is leniently punished. In this case, Rebecca faces discrimination, which is not good. Teachers always remind their students about the danger of plagiarism. Professors always warn their students about the consequences of stealing another person’s work. Teachers perform a virtuous action by imposing their own rules for plagiarism. They believe that punishing students for their wrong act discourages them from repeating what they did, and transform them into better individuals. Rebecca and Nick have both been informed about academic integrity at College. Both act as victims as if it was the Professor’s fault to give them bad grades. They both know plagiarism is considered an offense. They seem to be blaming the teacher who has evidence of their plagiarism (Rebecca copy/pasted a paragraph without a citation while Nick has plagiarize several times in his paper). Rebecca and Nick have unintentionally plagiarized. Their action was somewhat done ignorance because they don’t realize what they did.
Nick and Rebecca faced an involuntary action. They feel pain for what they did and must now endure the consequences of cheating. Whereas, the professors made a voluntary action, they chose to punish those who plagiarize without caring about the outcomes of their actions. Both are responsible for their own actions. Professors would not see them as dishonest students.
Schools should force faculty to have the same policy about plagiarism because it’s a serious matter. The consequences for plagiarism must be similar for all teachers. Any student found plagiarized should receive the same punishment or penalty as another one so as to avoid injustice. Teachers have the freedom to create their own grading policy, but for cheating policy it must be impartial.
SOURCE: “THE ETHICS OF PLATO AND ARISTOTLE” “A Tale Of Two Cheaters”