Wednesday, March 12, 2008
I witnessed something I never should have this Monday afternoon.
I was in Fraser Hall around 1 p.m., waiting for my next class to start. Another class let out, and as the students left and the new class began, a professor pulled a student aside, and started speaking to her.
The professor started berating her for an assignment. The professor claimed it was plagiarized and that she was only giving her half credit for the assignment, and then continued to explain that this was illegal and that she was lucky to get the grade she did. She was condescending and at times just plain rude.
This went on for a good 20 minutes. The student seemed to handle it remarkably well. In the end, she said, “You’re the teacher. I’m just a student.”
She may be a student, but she’s still entitled to certain rights.
Like the right to privacy.
I don’t know whether the student actually plagiarized the assignment. I don’t care, either. I care about the fact that the professor had the nerve to take her into a public place, and share the conversation with the world.
This is what office hours are for: to allow students to discuss problems with their professors privately. To prevent students from having to share their humiliation with other people.
I applaud the student for remaining as calm as she did. I would not have.
Sincerely,
Melissa Johnson
Joliet, Ill sophomore
English and journalism
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Comments
Letter to the Editor: Instructors must respect students’ rights
Plagiarism is a serious issue. However, having such a conversation about a student's work in such a public fashion is not only disrespectful, but it also contravenes university policies. If a case of plagiarism is suspected, then an instructor has to report this. This ensures that the accusation is dealt with in a serious manner. Not only that, it also allows for a student to appeal the instructor's decision. An arbitary grade-lowering effectively cuts off a student's recourse to clear him or herself against what could potentially prove to be an error of judgment. Whichever way you look at it, the author of this article is quite rightly shocked at what she witnessed.
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