By now you’re probably in “lazy-days-of-summer” mode. Staying up late doing nothing productive. Sleeping in. Wanting to lay out by the pool. Thinking and moving in slow-motion.
Convincing yourself to walk to class may take some serious persuasion because it feels like you’re in a convection oven out there, and you need a bath by the time you get to class. Or if you’re taking one of some 200 online classes this summer, you have to motivate yourself to power on the computer and make it to WebCT, resisting the beckoning of Facebook, Twitter, and e-mails.
Lazy, lazy, lazy. That is how summer can feel. You may be tempted to cut corners with your classes so you can minimize work time and maximize play time.
So, in the midst of Summer A finals, exams and projects, when you feel farthest away from the motivated, focused version of yourself, I want to remind you not to compromise your work ethic. Not to cheat.
You may be rolling your eyes right now. You may not care or want to care about it. You may think you won’t get caught, or that everyone cheats. But I, and many other students, earn my grades. Summer or not summer, this is your degree you’re working toward. Your name will go on that diploma. And you will use it to get a job.
It pains me to see friends and classmates lying to themselves and their professors when they cheat — and online classes make it easier than ever. With no teacher click-clacking down the aisle to look over your shoulder or separate you a few desks away from your neighbors, cheating on online assignments and quizzes goes unmonitored. It is out of your professors’ control and completely in yours. You are trusted to complete the tasks alone, but who would catch you if you got help from a classmate or a friend or an online resource?
An athlete who cheats his or her way through practices will not perform as well in games; in the same way, if you cut corners in classes, you might not perform as well in your jobs. If you cheat while you’re on a diet, you’re not going to reach your health goals. Establishing a work ethic is work, and summer is the toughest time to keep it together and persevere. So here’s a little voice of encouragement: You can do it yourself.
I think the true test with online classes today is one of integrity. Can you resist the temptation and convenience of cheating? You may downplay the downfalls of cheating because you may be used to it, immune to it or even comfortable with it. But I’d rather the world be full of honest people than “successful” people. Hard-working people who aren’t afraid to try hard, play fair and get what they earned are much more admirable than lazy people who lower their ethical standards for the sake of convenience and “success.”
It’s a bold move to decline a tempting invitation to collaborate on an individual assignment. A bold, smart, admirable move.
If only we would be more caught up in being good and honest than on looking good on our transcripts. If only we could be truer to ourselves and our studies, and to our teachers and classmates.
Just because it’s the lazy days of summer doesn’t mean you don’t have to take your classes seriously. Lock yourself in the lovely air conditioning of the library, and hammer out the best work you can — by yourself. You can still find time for poolside margaritas with your friends.
Kathryn Stolarz is a journalism senior.
