A plague of plagiarism is degrading higher education

I am greatly troubled by the actions of the principal who "borrowed" from others in order to entertain her graduates. Sadly, I am not surprised. I am a professor at a local institution of higher learning, and plagiarism plagues my classrooms, undergraduate and graduate alike.

In the past year and a half, I have discovered three cases of plagiarism (and one of "borrowing" word-for-word off a crib sheet on an in-class test). No doubt many slipped past my scrutiny. The fact that I refer them to the university's Web page on academic dishonesty, and even though I warn them that I find academic dishonesty reprehensible and even though I warn them that I penalize students who do cheat or plagiarize to the fullest extent allowed by my university, they still do it.

Are students lazy? Are they stupid? Do they just not care and assume nobody will catch them? I don't know, and I am not sure I want to know. What I do know is that plagiarism has become a pandemic, and I see no end in sight.

Even at an institution of higher learning, failing a student for plagiarism is time-consuming. There are multiple meetings with the perpetrator, possibly your department chair, extensive documentation and dealing with possible "appeals" at the department, college and university levels.

Then there is the personal side. I have been stalked, verbally assaulted, threatened, accused of annihilating a student's dreams of going to law school, and "politely" instructed by students and advisers on how I could resolve the problem. No wonder most of my colleagues turn a blind eye.

While the fact that a student plagiarizes leads me to feel disrespected, the burdensome process of failing someone for academic dishonesty degrades everything about the mission of a university and the character of its faculty.

Principal earns a failing grade

Re: Principal's speech belied reputation, June 15.

Let's not rush to the opposite end of the spectrum and suddenly begin to praise Susan Duval's work as principal of Hernando County's Springstead High School. Duval's decision to plagiarize an entire graduation speech is an embarrassment to all professional educators.

I wonder how she felt as the audience applauded after she shared her "personal thoughts" with the graduates. Did she take pride in her presentation or privately acknowledge herself as a fraud on the podium?

Indeed, she may gotten her school a "B" for working within a horrendous bureaucracy and adhering to arbitrary academic standards, but as far as originality and integrity are concerned, Susan Duval fails.

A soldier's thanks

I am going to Afghanistan. I would like to thank some people for their support and kindness. Some of my neighbors have actively supported my wife and kids by offering transportation and meals.

My employer, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, compensates my wages and allows me to accrue sick and vacation hours. The sheriff supports deployed members, which makes deployment easier by not having to worry about job security and money issues.

Dimmitt Chevrolet in Clearwater allowed my son and me to drive a Chevy SSR just because it was something we wanted to do before I left. Several local restaurants showed sincere appreciation to our military when hearing I was being deployed, specifically Applebee's at Curlew Road and U.S. 19.

Thanks to my friends at work who sincerely offered to help, and have helped my family. I thank President Bush for having the resolve to make the right choices, even though they are hard choices.

Most of all I want to thank my family: my wife Beth, and my kids, Brooke, Lindsay and Nick. They are making a greater sacrifice than I am. They will be home taking care of the hard stuff with less support. The Army will provide a support system for me with hundreds of fellow soldiers.

My family will hear the negatively reported news about the war and the troops who are killed or injured. They will be without a husband, father and friend. I thank my family for supporting me, the Army, our country and President Bush.

Deserter has a lot of gall

Re: Deserter faces a mixed welcome in hometown, June 14.

First I read this story in the paper and then I saw him wave to the camera on TV. Here was a man who, more than 40 years ago, turned his back on his country, his Army buddies and his family and all the punishment he got was 30 days in jail.

I was in Korea, participated in the Inchon invasion with the 1st Marine Division, was wounded in Seoul and spent eight months in the hospital. While there I helped an 18-year-old Marine find the men's room because he had lost both eyes to a mortar shell. I heard grown men sobbing in the night because they were told their foot or leg had to be amputated. Later I also escorted several of those brave men's caskets back to their families.

With all the suffering and dying still going on today, how does this traitor and deserter have the gall to show his face in this great country of ours?

A nation misled into Iraq by 9/11

Re: Solemn tribute and Recalling a son, soldier, friend, June 15.

I find it both ironic and eerily prophetic that both these stories were published on the same day as Pat Oliphant's cartoon, which depicted an American public more interested in the Michael Jackson trial and verdict than in the release of official British documents that proved George Bush had already decided to invade Iraq, even while proclaiming that he was trying to avoid doing so. As Paul O'Neill and Richard Clarke have both testified, Saddam Hussein was Bush's target from the day he took office, and 9/11 gave him the excuse he needed.

According to their families, both Pfc. Louis Niedermeier and Spc. Stanley Lapinski were moved to enlist out of patriotism after 9/11, yet neither family expressed any regrets that they were killed in Iraq, or any criticism of Bush and his administration for sending them there, when Iraq had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11.

Our spendthrift officials

Re: The old and the rested, by John Tierney.

In his June 15 "solution" to the Social Security problem, Tierney states, "If the elderly were willing to work longer, there would be lower taxes on everyone and fewer struggling young families. There would be more national wealth and tax revenue available to help the needy, including people no longer able to work as well as the elderly below the poverty line."

I wish Tierney had included an example of the government actually lowering an established tax. And even if more time in the work force produced more taxes, presumably including Social Security taxes, what makes him think this revenue would help the elderly or poor? The fact remains that the increased revenue would be spent by our spendthrift elected officials, as well as having any surplus Social Security funds appropriated for the general fund as has been done for decades.

Opinion

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