The Hawk (2/25/15)

Page 1

THE HAWK THE HAWK September 24, 2014 February 25, 2015

Enter into the mind of an artist on pg. 12 The Student Newspaper of Saint Joseph’s University | Volume XCIII | Est. 1929 | www.hawkhillnews.com

Student use of academic content sharing raises concerns ERIN RAFTERY ’15 Editor Emeritus Course Hero, an academic content collecting website, has stirred up conversations amongst the community at Saint Joseph’s University. Founded in 2006, Course Hero is a company that allows users to share academic course material. While the site may be considered helpful, as it provides a wealth of content that is school and course specific, some view the site as a potential source of plagiarism that is close to infringing upon copyright laws. The site allows users to upload course content including notes, study guides, practice tests, flashcards, and essays. According to William McDevitt, Ph.D., associate professor of management and chair of the Academic Honesty Board, posting and using notes and tests are acceptable, but using essays from the site, fully or partially, without citing them qualifies as plagiarism. “I don’t think uploading information onto Course Hero is in and of itself a violation… The problem I see with Course Hero is if someone were to go on Course Hero and get a term paper, and use all or a portion of that term paper for their own assignment in a

Photo by Matthew J. Haubenstein ‘15

course without citing it,” said McDevitt. McDevitt said that there have been no academic honesty violation cases filed at the university involving Course Hero at this time. In response to concerns about plagiarism, Terry Park, director of customer relations and compliance for Course Hero, explained in an email response that all users must agree to Course Hero’s Honor Code, which states that users should not misuse the site through the following ways: “Copying solutions directly from Course Hero resources and submitting them as your own, uploading another person’s materials to Course Hero and claiming them as your own…using Course Hero study materials or tutors to complete tests or homework assignments when instructed not to use outside help, or using Course Hero in any manner that violates your instructor or institution’s academic Honor Code.” Further, Park said that any abuse of Course Hero’s materials could be easily identified through search engines such as Google or plagiarism-prevention sites like Turnitin. Continued HERO, Pg.3

Bring on the sun

First solar panels installed on campus KATRYNA PERERA, ’16 News Editor

Hagan Arena received a new addition to its structure on February 18th. This project, led by the Green Fund, has been in the works for quite some time, and last week Saint Joseph’s University began generating its first kilowatts of solar energy. Dylan Skwira, ’16, president of the Green Fund, reported that solar panels were installed on the roof of the building and all systems are currently up and functioning. The idea for solar panels at St. Joe’s was first discussed in the fall of 2013. The concept then proceeded through various stages of approval by the Green Fund and Facilities Management. The goal of the project is to help reduce the carbon footprint of the university and to provide educational opportunities for students as well as the surrounding community. “[The project is] being used for community education and outreach efforts so that we can show others in the St. Joe’s community that St. Joe’s does care about the environment and that we’re giving back to the surrounding area,” said Skwira. “It also demonstrates to donors and friends the potential benefits of such systems on campus and the cost saving abilities that these systems have.” The installation included 40 solar panels and a monitoring system. In the current beginning phases, the panels will be generating between two and four kilowatts (KwH) of energy, but according to Skwira, the project is scalable—

hopefully, over the next four years, the system will be upgraded to a 10 kilowatt system and will produce between 12,000-15,000 KwH annually for the arena. To put that in perspective, Kevin Kane, director of Facilities Management, said, “That’s enough [energy] to pow-

er an average-size home in the U.S.” Initially, the annual savings for the university are estimated to be around $2,000 per year, but once the project is fully implemented and scaled, the savings could be as much as $10,000-$20,000 annually. Continued SOLAR, Pg.3

Photo courtesy of Dylan Skwira ’16


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
The Hawk (2/25/15) by The Hawk - Issuu