2 n The Wichitan
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nour view
Yes, students cheat
While impending exams have forced most students’ social lives to grind to a screeching halt, some of our ethically challenged peers are planning to cheat their way through finals week. We’ve all seen them. Sitting in the computer lab, a female student writes on the inside of her calf with a ballpoint pen, copying notes out of her intro to Biology textbook onto her skin before she rolls her jeans back down to hide the evidence until she needs to sneak a peek. A graphically inclined student prints out a mock-up of a Dr. Pepper bottle label with formulas and facts in place of nutritional values. It’s easier to cheat than ever before. Cell phones make it easy to text test answers, and YouTube videos offer detailed tutorials about revolutionary cheating methods. Sometimes, it seems like cheaters put as much effort into academic dishonesty than their studious peers put into legitimate test-prep. Whoever said “cheaters never win”
was lying. Cheaters do win, and they win often. Relatively few students are ever caught in the act, but a Duke University survey reports that 70 percent of college students admitted to some form of serious cheating. If 70 percent were willing to come out and admit it, then a lot more are probably keeping their bad behavior a secret. Students are under more pressure than ever to get high marks. Grades shouldn’t be the most important element of a college education, but they are important. A few extra GPA points can help a grad stand out in an overcrowded job market. Unfortunately, cheaters aren’t learning anything. But telling students to “just be honest” isn’t going to inspire them to turn over a new leaf. MSU’s honor code hasn’t eliminated the cheating problem, and If it’s easy to cheat without getting caught, there are always going to be individuals who are willing to take advantage of the opportunity for an easy A.
May 4, 2011
3410 Taft Blvd. Box 14 n Wichita Falls, Texas 76308 News Desk: (940) 397-4704 n Ads: (940) 397-4705 Fax (940) 397-4025 n E-mail WICHITAN@mwsu.edu
Professors can do a lot to discourage cheating, but not without increasing their own workload. Student’s cant use a cheat sheet to pass a test that actually forces them to prove their understanding of a subject instead of just regurgitating facts. Unfortunately, in larger classes, especially at the freshman and sophomore levels, coming up with this type of assignment and finding the time to grade them in a timely fashion could prove problematic. In the end, it all comes down to integrity. Cheaters might make a few good grades, but they also run the risk of getting caught. If a professor doesn’t manage to identify their clever methods, their lazy, dishonest habits will come back to bite them in the future. Try explaining to your boss that “yes, that was part of the curriculum in my undergraduate program but… I never actually learned it. I just cheated my way to an A.” We doubt they’ll be impressed.
editorial board
nEditor in Chief: Brittany Norman nManaging Editor: Chris Collins n FEATURES/ A&E Editor: Brittney Cottingham nOp-Ed Editor: Cameron Shaffer nSports Editor: Andre Gonzales nPhoto Editor: Hannah Hofmann nAdvertising manager: Rachel Bingham nCopy editor: Kaja Salsman nadviser: Randy Pruitt nReporter: Orlando Flores nPhotographers: Kassie Bruton, Damian Atamenwan
Copyright © 2011. The Wichitan is a member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association. The Wichitan reserves the right to edit any material submitted for publication. Opinions expressed in The Wichitan do not necessarily reflect those of the students, staff, faculty, administration or Board of Regents of Midwestern State University. The Wichitan welcomes letters of opinion from students, faculty and staff submitted by the Friday before intended publication. Letters should be brief (350 words or less) and without abusive language or personal attacks. Letters must be typed and signed by the writer and include a telephone number and address for verification purposes. The editor retains the right to edit letters.
nSocietal Floss
The siren call of diversity continues to wail on
Diversity and multiculturalism have become some of the key buzzwords of our generation and even our campus. Being pro-diversity and flaunting not just a tolerance but also an eager embrace of multiculturalism has become the politically correct thing to do. The motivations behind protecting and promoting diversity and multiculturalism appear to be well intentioned and pure of heart, and perhaps they are; however, there is an element of that embrace that kills individualism and true diversity. “Diverse” literally means “varied” or “very different or distinct from one another.” When was the last time you looked at a person and thought, “He is so diverse!” Probably never, because there is one person, and that one person cannot be varied or distinct from himself. Multiculturalism is understood as the integration of a diverse person (or a varied person, who does not exist) into society. How often does anyone look at an individual and think that she is so multicultural (not in the sense that a person appreciates and enjoys multiple cultures, but that person is an expression of multiple cultures). Rarely, if ever, because such a person is incredibly rare. You will never find a person that varies from herself, and as an individual is not a diverse integration. Individuals transcend diversity because diversity only applies to groups. You have to look at a group of people to notice that is composed of diverse individuals, people who vary from each other. Multiculturalism only works when a group is being integrated into a larger cultural setting. Diversity sees groups of people, not individuals. While racism, some intolerance, and ignorance need to be combated, and defending and promoting diversity and acceptance of groups within the United
Cameron Shaffer Opinion Editor States and specifically Midwestern State University, is a good and noble thing, it does a massive disservice to individuals. To be more precise, it does a disservice to those individuals whom advocates of diversity most want to promote and get the general cultural to accept. This is done when we start to think of anyone from outside the United States as first off, an international student. They are that for sure, but they are not that first. When we at Midwestern being to lump all students from Africa together, regardless of ethnic background and national origin, and see them as “African students” first, we lose sight of them as individuals and as specific, real people. Students need to be thought of as Reuben and Tomi first, way before they are thought of as international students. Placing a massive emphasis on diversity, which requires to people to think in terms of groups rather than individuals, moves those international students farther away as specific people in the minds of the rest of society. Thinking of people in terms of race or national origin can be damaging to not just international students, but also American citizens. Politically, African-Americans have overwhelmingly voted Democratic since the 1930s. The last several na-
tional elections have seen African-Americans who turn out vote 88% and higher for Democratic candidates. Most people assume then that their African-American peers vote Democratic, whether or not they really are. Statistics mean nothing to the individual. It is not only foolish to apply what a group does to an individual no matter how likely, but also continues to encourage thinking of people as just components of block, rather than as individuals. But when we think in terms of diversity, that is what happens. An emphasis on multiculturalism also devalues the dominant, mainline cultural and becomes overly defensive of cultures and beliefs that do not deserve that defense. All cultures and societies are not equal. Some are horrific. How many people think pre-Civil War and pre-Civil Rights act Mississippi is as good a culture as the one there now? Mississippi, is probably the least racist state, currently leading the country in inter-racial marriages. No one with a half-decent sense of morality is going to say those two state of affairs are equal. People can debate for ages on how great American culture really is, but Cubans get on cardboard boats to get to Miami and yet there are no Americans willing to risk everything trying to get to Havana. When an emphasis is placed on multiculturalism and trying to accommodate every culture, every culture gets accommodated in the way we think, even if it should not. When the value is on groups instead of people, groups receive unwarranted promotion from the vanguards of diversity. As students of higher education, we need to make sure we see people as people first, and not just as elements of a larger group.
Editor reflects on lessons learned
For the past four years, The Wichitan office has been my second home every spring and fall semester. By the time you read this, I’ll have cleared out eight semesters worth of legal pads filled with illegible interview notes, sticky notes that might have been relevant at one time or another, long-forgotten essays from freshman (and sophomore and junior) English classes, and other assorted clutter. Most of it will end up in the trash, tossed out like last week’s Wichitan and every issue before that one. The products of my time here – this newspaper in front of you is the 100th issue I have contributed to at Midwestern – are temporary by nature. News is only relevant at a certain point in time; after that, events and controversies that might have seemed momentous are forgotten But I don’t regret the 100 Tuesday nights (that often bled into the early hours of Wednesday mornings) I spent in the newsroom writing articles, laying out pages and correcting errors in a publication that our target audience – the student body – never seemed to care too much about. It was almost never easy. There were weeks when I wanted to throw in the towel and hand in my imaginary editor’s badge, but I didn’t. Instead of quitting, I learned how to cope with conflict. Becoming editor in chief as a second-semester freshman exposed me to a set of challenges that many people don’t face until long after commencement. I have interviewed and hired pro-
Brittany Norman Editor in Chief spective staffers and fired individuals who, for one reason or another, just didn’t work out. I have tackled controversial issues in the interest of informing the audience, and stood behind other reporters when their work drew criticism. I have written good articles as well as bad ones, and I learned that the moment you can no longer stand up for what you’ve written, it’s time to admit you were wrong. I’ve made mistakes – probably a lot more than I know of – but I think those slip-ups were just as valuable as the successes. I learned more from the things I did wrong than from my successes. Regret is a powerful teaching tool. I may not remember the individual stories I covered, but I will take the big lessons with me when I leave the newsroom. There are things you can’t
pick up in a classroom alone. A badly-written essay in an undergraduate class will earn a poor grade, but an irresponsible article could result in a libel suit. Even though The Wichitan’s readership is small, the printed word can have a significant impact on individuals and the community. Student journalists must still be responsible and ethical, because their product is more than a class project. It’s an information source for the campus community. More than anything else, I think I learned how to think for myself. While working on an article, especially a controversial one, there is noise coming from all directions. People on all sides of the story are protecting their own interests. Sometimes, outsiders will offer suggestions on how best to handle a certain topic or situation. All of that matters. You have to consider the potential pros and cons of every paragraph you write, because at the end of the day, you’re the one who has to stand behind the product you place on the newsstands. True accountability is a strange thing for a college student to adjust to. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to operate without a safety net. Without the risk of failure, my successes wouldn’t have seemed quite as meaningful.