Avion Spring 2013 Issue 1

Page 1

Tuesday January 22, 2013

Volume CXXXVI Issue 1

The extent of cheating in ERAU Peter Tan

Editor-in-Chief Imagine a situation in which you are in the library, preparing for an upcoming test. A friend comes by with a copy of a previous test from the same class and professor, something you did not know was available, and as a “friend” offers it to you to help you study. You know that this previous test is not supposed to be out there, but you also know a better grade is likely by using it for revision. What would you do? The SGA student court deals with academic integrity violations and according to Associate Justice Joshua Small, such situations are commonplace, even though they did not seek the old test out, “students are in a dilemma when a test falls in their face; do they use it to study or not?”

You don’t learn anything by cheating and you will not be able to function in higher level classes. -DANIEL PORT

Because each professor has different policies concerning tests, sometimes it is confusing for the students to know what is ethical or not, despite the academic integrity policy and honor code laid out in the student handbook. According to various deans, professors and students themselves, certain trends have emerged on what is acceptable behavior and what is not. It is important to understand that academic integrity is more than just about not cheating and not copying. Integrity creates an academic system that ensures that graduates from an institution are capable of performing to an expected level, upholding

the value of the degrees obtained. Associate Dean of Student Life Catherine Downes says, “When you graduate, you might need to build an airplane for Boeing or some other company, and if a particular person is on your team, but he/she doesn’t know what they are doing because they cheated, what it does is devalue the degree for everyone else.” The reputation of any university is carried upon the shoulders of its graduates. According to Dr. Nancee Bailey, the VicePresident of Student Affairs, “What we can do (as faculty and administrators) is to focus on the integrity of the individual here at ERAU and hope they carry it with them as they go out into their careers and they become the beacon of this university and share with the world what we are all about.” “Protecting the academic system is threefold,” says Downes. “You have the students, whose expectation is that they are coming here to learn by doing their own work instead of cheating. You have the faculty whose responsibility is to share the tools, the skills, everything needed so that the student can learn. The last part is the administration of the process, to ensure things are fair and that the student is heard when there is an academic integrity violation.” “It (academic integrity) plays in so importantly to future career aspirations,” says the Associate Vice-President for Student Affairs, Sonja Taylor. “If the student doesn’t truly learn the material, it will eventually show up.” This view is backed up by Associate Justice Daniel Port, who says “You don’t learn anything by cheating and you will not be able to function in higher level classes. I have seen people who crashed and burned and ended up dropping out because they cheated their way through the lower level classes.” A good question to ask then is how widespread is cheating and plagiarism on our

PHOTO COURTESY WIKIPEDIA.ORG

campus? Using statistics from the Humanities and Social Science department, for the Fall 2012 semester, out of 2874 filled seats in 141 different sections, a total of 22 cases of plagiarism were caught and prosecuted, the majority of which were first offenders. According to Dr. Donna Barbie, Chair and Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences, about 20-30 academic integrity violations are discovered every term in the department. Such cases are harder to quantify in the math/science/engineering department because of the difficulty in pinpointing cheating.

Do you think graduate students cheat? Like paying an accountant to do their accounting homework for them? -DEAN PAUL BELL

However, inappropriate behavior does exist as Dr. Daewon Kim of the Aerospace Engineering department says, “Regrettably, I have seen some suspicious behaviors during exams. I always try to tell students that the important things are learning, understanding, being creative/innovative, so that one can prepare his/her future path.” Cheating is not just limited to undergraduates as Dean Paul Bell, Associate Dean of Students, recalls a past event. “Do you think graduate students cheat? Like paying an accountant to do their accounting homework for them?” says Bell. “Because the accountant had ethics and he called the university. He didn’t know which university, but he called all universities in a 50 mile radius. Everyone has ethics; you just have to use it. Is that student a student here anymore? No.” So how would one know what is ethically right or wrong? Because professors have various ways of handling tests, there is no simple answer to the question, although guidelines exist.

Continued on A2

Avion: Experience the Impossible! Andy Lichtenstein Staff Reporter

Feel the pounding in your chest of 1.1 million pounds of thrust, launching a 735,000 pound rocket into orbit. Experience what most can only imagine, here at the Avion Newspaper. This is not your everyday publication folks! We are looking for motivated individuals with an interest in journalism. No experience or membership dues required. If getting up close and personal with the future of space vehicles, airshow pilots, and the Daytona Speedway sounds like fun, join the Avion Newspaper! The publication meets every Tuesday at 7p.m. in the Endeavor Room on the second floor of the Student Center. There, we discuss and decide what will be covered in the next issue. We also meet every Sunday at 1p.m. in the Avion office to create the paper for the following week. The publication is printed on Monday,

and hits the stands Tuesday. As the student newspaper of Embry-Riddle, the Avion works seven days a week to provide the most accurate and comprehensive newspaper possible, even if it means working on the next issue only hours after the previous one is released. Feel free to contribute where and when you can. Grades come first after all. We cover nearly every launch out of the Kennedy Space Center, be it a SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, NASA, or Air Force launch. Get involved with the future of space travel with exclusive press accomodations including access to the Vehicle Assembly Building and launch pads. If you’re looking for an internship or employment opportunity with any of the organizations at Kennedy, this could be your foot in the door. We also cover most airshows in the vicinity of Daytona Beach. While you were on the beach at Wings and Waves, we were on the roof of the Hilton Hotel.

If you went to the Cocoa Beach Airshow, you might have seen our photographers hanging out the back of a C130 refueler. As a photographer or reporter, you may have access to speak with performers and share some experiences together. Embry-Riddle has been partners with the Daytona International Speedway for a number of years. This semester, the Avion will be covering the Rolex 24 and the Daytona 500, among other racing events. Additionally, the publication is working alongside the Sport Aviation Club, the Daytona International Speedway, and the FAA, to provide the university with a unique aerial perspective of the pinnacles of motorsports. The photos will be published in the upcoming issues. In addition to providing local news and aviation coverage, the Avion travels to the Associated College Press (ACP) Conference every year. This semester, the conference will be held in San Francisco, Calif.

The conference convenes twice a year to provide a wealth of knowledge and expertise for college publications, be it magazines, yearbooks, or newspapers. Those who consistently contribute to the publication may be selected to attend the conference. The cost of the trip is completely covered by the Avion, and the evenings are your own, so you can explore the city! The knowledge and experience you will gain in the process is invaluable. Show us how committed you can be, and your efforts will pay off sooner than expected! Experience the impossible. If space travel, aerobatics, or racing excites you, join the Avion Newspaper! Stop by our booth at the activities fair across from Starbucks today from 9a.m. – 3p.m! Visit our facebook page at https:// www.facebook.com/TheAvion, or email us at theavion@gmail.com. Hope to see you soon!


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