Student Advocacy looks to spread the word against plagiarism

This past week, Student Advocacy ran their 12th annual “Academic Integrity Week,” where the organization set up information booths and gave presentations in different buildings across campus in an effort to raise awareness of the dangers of plagiarism and academic dishonesty.

Student Advocacy director, Brandy Uzick said that the group runs a number of programs designed to “inform students of their rights and responsibilities at the university.”

Uzick pointed out that “Academic Integrity Week” also includes fun activities that allowed many university students to interact in the process of promoting academic integrity.

“We had a quiz show format in the fireside lounge [of the Campo building] where we brought students up on stage and asked them questions about how to maintain academic integrity [ . . . ]. That was a lot of fun for everyone.”

Student Advocacy provides handouts and online resources about the university’s policy on on academic dishonesty, gives classroom presentations and offers one-hour sessions with students to give in-depth information.

According to Uzisck, outside of its duty to actively promote academic integrity, the Student Advocacy group also serves as a source for students to seek advice and assistance in the cases where they have been accused of committing an academic offence.

“[Student Advocacy] recommends students call us when they have been accused [ . . . ]. The department head will also refer them to us.”

Uzick said that it is then that the student and the department will discuss the situation with Student Advocacy acting as the moderator.

As the penalties for a student found guilty of committing an academic offence are often steep and the paperwork and the process necessary for following through on the penalization are a heavy burden for both sides, many university instructors look to avoid and prevent plagiarism from occurring in their classrooms altogether.

University of Manitoba history professor, Gerry Bowler, takes extra steps to avoid student plagiarism in his classes in an attempt to avoid the “draining” academic dishonesty trials.

Bowler said he often dedicates the first lecture of a term towards informing his students of their responsibility to maintain their academic integrity, even going so far as to quiz them on the information he presents.

“The first thing is prevention, so I give a handout and mention in the syllabus what sources are legit, what aren’t and then I like to test the [students] on the information in the syllabus,” Bowler said.

Bowler argued that it is very important for all professors to properly educate their students of the potential consequences of plagiarism because he said that with the advent of the Internet, cheating has never been easier or less expensive.

“It’s so easy. It has become an epidemic in the first years and the problem is, nine out of 10 times it’s just pure carelessness.”

“Students can be so stupid. I have seen some of them hand in work with another person’s name right on it. It has become a growing problem, but I know everyone is doing an awful lot. Everybody is really worried about it.”

Lasha Tchantouridze, a University of Manitoba sessional instructor in the political studies department, said he worries that a bit of carelessness can ultimately “ruin a student’s life.”

While acknowledging the challenge that university instructors face in trying to steer students away from the temptation to cheat, Tchantouridze still retains that “plagiarism is the worst offence a student can commit,” and as such, he likes to experiment with creative solutions to the problem.

“[Plagiarism] is a complex subject but, I like to discuss it on the first day in my introductory classes and I also try to give essay questions where neither the answer nor the work can not be easily found elsewhere [. . . ]. I try my best to be as innovative as possible,” Tchantouridze said.

When asked if the university is doing enough to prevent plagiarism Tchantouridze said, “The university policy is so harsh, so overblown. It’s a serious offence, but it’s not like they killed somebody.”

Adrienne Klin, a first-year U1 student, thinks that students who choose to plagiarize are just lazy because she feels Student Advocacy and the university instructors do plenty to get the word out to students on academic dishonesty.

“Sometimes, sure it can be tempting to cheat. It’s like, ‘Oh I can just Google that,’ but then you remember what they have taught us and its like, ‘Oh I can actually get in big trouble here.’ So that’s why a lot of people don’t do it.”

Tchantouridze said that in his seven years of teaching, he has personally dealt with three separate cases of blatant plagiarism. Although he was unable to disclose the specifics, Tchantouridze stated that in all three cases the guilty student received a failing grade on both the assignment, and in the