Personal devices encourage cheating

by Olivia Bennett

Graphics Editors:

Crystia Basnight

Sanaa Loyd

Ad Manager: John

Frick

Adviser:

Beth Swann

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The Talon provides students with an opportunity to research and write informative articles related to Nation Ford High School or topics students find interesting. The paper’s objective is to notify the school community of the news in a timely and informative manner and to entertain them through articles and columns.

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“Nation Ford High School encourages students to maintain high standards of academic integrity and honesty,” according to the Nation Ford High School student and parent handbook.

NFHS has a zero tolerance policy on cheating, including plagiarism and fabrication. Teachers and administrators will treat such actions in a serious manner. Students partaking in these acts will face extreme consequences.

Because some take advantage of the option by misusing their devices in an immoral and dishonest way, students should not have the option to use their personal computers in class.

Teachers and Administration have mixed opinions.

“I don’t necessarily agree with the statement that students should not be allowed to bring their own technology to school,” Chris Chandler, Principal of NFHS said. “There are many ways to monitor student activity on their own devices.”

What teachers and faculty may not be aware of is that students have found ways around the monitoring systems embedded in the school network. When students use school provided computer technology for testing and graded assignments, teachers can monitor their activity on a server called Dyknow.

The school chromebooks are linked to this server on each teacher’s computer that tracks students' ac tivity on their computers. When students use their personal computers at school they are required to connect to the school's internet. That way the school district can monitor what students are doing, but teachers cannot.

When teachers are not able to monitor students during exams, tests, and other graded assignments, it allows students to go outside of testing sights and have other windows open. Oftentimes, students use this advantage to get answers for tests. This is a violation of the NFHS zero tolerance policy of cheating.

When students cheat, it not only affects the student themselves, but the other students around them.

When other students who apply their knowledge and hard work see cheating occuring, it causes them to feel undermined; their best work that they put forward is overshadowed by someone’s laziness, and the resulting grade that was not earned.

Tests are a reflection of how well students understand material in class. Cheating weakens this concept, and discourages students from engaging themselves in the information they are being taught.

If they aren’t understanding material, students should take responsibility and ask for help to clarify confusion.

There’s never an excuse to forfeit integrity for a few more points.

Students commonly cheat because they feel there are too many responsibilities to keep up with: relationship problems, work issues, stress overload, plus students focus more on grades rather than the material they are learning.

Even though students may feel anxiety or stress when looking at their grades, cheating is never the solution. Cheating also causes people to feel guilty, and at the end of the day even more stressed out.

NFHS already has a rule: students have to use school monitored chromebooks during tests and other graded assignments, but the regulation is not enforced by many teachers. This inconsistency means some students have an unfair advantage.

There should be more effective ways of monitoring student activity on personal technology during assessments in particular or students should leave personal devices at home. Either way, students should be held accountable for their actions.

Students want a voice in menus, school should curb waste

by Sara Pipa

“You need to pick a fruit or vegetable,” the cafeteria server insists.

Every day, students reluctantly pick up orange slices or peas knowing they will just throw them away.

Public schools have been a key cause of the epidemic of food waste, and this must stop. The issue is especially problematic in high school, considering that students will trash their required fruit/vegetable and head over to the vending machine for a $1.25 bag of chips. When students throw away their lunches, they’re also throwing away perfectly good food.

The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act–which strengthened nutrition standards for meals, snacks, and beverages at school–was put into place by Barack Obama in 2010, and new policies applied in the 2012-2013 school year were promptly followed by an increase in the waste of food.

“The basic question we wanted to explore was: does requiring a child to select a fruit or vegetable actually correspond with consumption. The answer was clearly no. It was heartbreaking to see so many students toss fruits like apples into the trash right after exiting the lunch line,” Director of

Community Nutrition Education Sarah Amin, Ph.D stated.

While the act was put into place with positive motives to fight childhood obesity, researchers admit change doesn’t happen quickly and can have unintended consequences, says CBS News Health Editor Ashley Welch.

According to Amin, a researcher at the University of Vermont, studies regarding food waste showed the excess of fruits and vegetables increased from an average 0.25 cups thrown away to 0.39 cups, a 56% increase in food waste after the government mandate went into effect. Food waste increased after the mandate was put into effect.

Additionally, professionals at usda.gov claim that food waste has shown harmful effects on the environment. The article “Food Waste and its Links to Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change” published in January 2022 states, “The connection between food loss and waste and climate change is increasingly recognized as important, and so is the link between climate change and agriculture and supply chain resiliency.

“Food loss and waste is estimated to be roughly one third of the food intended for human consumption in the U.S. When food is discarded, all inputs used in producing, processing, transporting, preparing, and storing discarded food are also wasted. Food loss and waste also exacerbates the climate change crisis with its significant greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint. Production, transportation, and handling of food generate significant Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions and when food ends up in landfills, it generates methane, an even more potent greenhouse gas.”

Unfortunately, regardless of available choices for students, a select few will continue to throw away their food.

However, there’s a possible solution: if students were given the opportunity to have a voice in what is served, there’s a higher chance that students would eat healthier.

As for the students who still choose to not eat their food when given the option to choose fruits and vegetables, schools can easily create a return table where students return dry fruits/vegetables, such as a banana. District food services can then work together with organizations such as Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina located in Charlotte, N.C. to repurpose the food so it doesn’t go to waste.

Hopefully students will think before throwing out their next tray, but if not, the school should create a plan to decrease the amount of food waste.

Letter To The Editor

Poor access for students with disabilities

Nation Ford High School claims to be an inclusive environment which supports the learning and growth of all students. What if I told you that this ‘inclusive’ space is unavailable for many disabled people, such as myself? During my short time at Nation Ford, I have experienced many hurdles accessing my education because of my disability. I am unable to independently access the media center, main office, and guidance office due to the heavy, manual doors that lead to said places. Finally, Nation Ford has only one elevator, presenting a major safety issue for students who cannot climb stairs, for example in during a fire. The inability to access vital resources makes me feel isolated and affirms that people like me are merely an afterthought in Fort Mill School District’s eyes. I urge you to think about the hurdles I and many others face at Fort Mill Schools and realize that someday, you too could be facing these same obstacles.

–Lily Sander (‘26)