When asked what the most infuriating thing in the world is, many potential answers come to mind. For me (and at least some others, I assume), it’s ignorance. Shocker, right? That’s why I am majoring in journalism, and that’s why I spend time each week writing things like this article to hopefully invoke some kind of thoughtful reaction to a variety of topics. Other infuriating things include people who use the 10 items or less line with more than 10 items, cut in line, eat pizza crust-first and chew with their mouths open (just writing that list made me start to twitch). However, there is one habit above all that really shouldn’t be an issue but has come to permeate our already delicate collegiate society: cheating.
Now, before I just dive right into the rant that is sure to come, I’d like to clarify a bit. You are not a terrible person if you’ve ever cheated. I’m not condemning you to a life cursed by bad luck and an eternity in hell if you’ve succumbed to the cruel temptation. It happens. Sometimes, you don’t even mean to look at the exam next to you and change your answer because you feel like they probably have a better chance of being right than you do. However, there is still never an excuse.
About three out of every four college students admit to cheating. We all know that not every person who has cheated admits to it. In addition, we all know that not every form of academic dishonesty fits a cut-and-dry definition of cheating. Does using your past work count? Does cheating only really count if a second party is involved? If someone happens to send me a text on my smart watch with the answer, am I supposed to ignore it? How can I ignore it?
Cheating is one giant gray area. It has been an issue for decades, and there is one underlying reason why it remains as such: We assume it is OK and it can’t be fixed. Sure, exam proctors look out for things like words written on students’ bodies, phone use, notes in obvious places and wandering eyes. Although this has certainly led to some cheaters being caught, it is not enough.
The biggest problem with this lapse in ethical-judgment-turned-cultural-norm is the fact that it is increasingly not seen as wrong. If they’re not doing it to affect anyone but themselves, why does it matter? Maybe something came up, and he didn’t have time to study. Maybe she was sick and missed class. Maybe he needs to pull his grade up, and this is his last option. How can all cheating be viewed as equal?
The issue here is largely societal. The one kid who cheats on the test isn’t perpetuating the issue as much as the other kid who laughs at it and high-fives him. The girl who plagiarized is at fault, but so is her friend who told her it wasn’t a big deal in the library at 3 a.m. when the friend wanted to go home.
I will never accuse those who cheat of not being at fault, but in order to change this cultural issue, we need to change our attitudes about it. This won’t happen overnight, but I hope next time your classmate brags about cheating, you stand up for what is right. Tell him or her that it isn’t OK. Report him or her to your professor. And don’t cheat yourself. Put in the work. You’ll get so much more out of it, including a better view of yourself. Eventually, cheating will come back to haunt you. Is a slightly better grade worth a bad self-image? You are not your grades, so don’t lower yourself and your values as if the opposite were true.
Taylor Cavaliere is a UF psychology and journalism sophomore. Her column appears on Mondays.
