Plagiarism

Stanley Fish of the New York Times is down playing the moral significance of plagiarism.

It's a sad, sad day when an "intelligent" individual comes to the rescue of lies and deceit. If we are going to consider untruths a moral sin, then plagiarism must come with it. Plagiarism is not about using someone else's idea, it's about stealing them. It's about taking a preexisting thought and repackaging it as your own.

I refuse to believe that students don't understand plagiarism. It's absolutely insulting to my generation to say we can't comprehend. From my Middle school years onward, plagiarism, what it is and what it isn't, has been shoved down my throat relentlessly. Honestly, if students don't get it, they're just not listening. It's their own damn fault. More likely than not, plagiarism stems from laziness and disinterest. There are a million things we'd rather be doing than researching a paper on Napoleons failed invasion of Russia.

I understand admission to college isn't as large a marker for intelligence as it once was, but it means something. Florida State might not be Harvard, but you still have to perform decently in high school to get in. College students may under-play their smarts (ie: sorority girls, jocks, pot heads, etc.) and maybe common sense is in short supply (ie: they think they can get away with plagiarism), but they know what their doing. Hold these people responsible for their actions. Don't undercut their guilt by saying "Oh, they didn't really know what they were doing". A college degree is becoming worthless because we let these cheaters get away with it and graduate. It's bad enough that we're coddling high school student. In college, it's inexcusable.