Yesterday, while grading programs turned in to me by students in anupper-level computer science course, I discovered that more than one ofthem was obviously based on a program that someone else had written andposted to the Web a few years ago. I have to wonder if thesestudents would have turned in someone else's work as their own if theyhad known what thoughts ran through my mind when I discovered what theyhad done. Here--hoping that it will deter some future studentfrom making the same stupid mistake that these students made--are someof those thoughts.
You're hurting me
Since we're talking about my thoughts, let's start with the impact yourcheating has on me. Turning in someone else's work as if it isyour own is a form of lying. To me, at least, when someone liesto me, it says, "You're either too stupid to recognize that I'm lyingto you, or you're powerless to do anything about it even if you do knowthat I'm lying. Either way, I don't respect you." In myposition as a professor, the "powerlessness" option translates into"too gutless or lazy to do anything about my lie." So, from mypoint of view, when a student lies to me, he or she is in effect sayingthat I'm stupid, gutless, and/or lazy.Now, at some things I'll admit that I'm stupid. And I don't knowhow courageous I'd be if, say, I was thrown into combat. I'm attimes lazy. That said, I am not stupid when it comes torecognizing similarities in software, I do not back down fromconfronting students, particularly when I believe that it is in thebest long-term interest of the student for me to do so, and I am not solazy that I would abandon my professional duties. I take itpersonally when a student behaves in a way that says that they believeotherwise about me. Although I think that I'm good about notholding grudges, I also don't think that I'll ever feel the same wayabout someone after they've lied to me.
Oh, alright, I am omitting at least one other possibility. I mustadmit that a student who turns in plagiarized work might not bethinking that I'm stupid, gutless, or lazy, that they might simply bethinking that I'm busy and probably not spending much if any timelooking for plagiarism, so maybe their program will slip through thecracks. Perhaps it's almost a game to them, like a deceptive playin football, say a double reverse. I look at itdifferently. To me, it's more like paying off the referees tomake poor calls and throw the game your way. In football, that'scheating, and it defeats the whole purpose of playing the game.Likewise, turning in plagiarized work is cheating, and it defeats thewhole purpose of the assignment, which is to help you learn. OK,so maybe I shouldn't take your cheating as an insult to me personally,even if sometimes it sure feels like it. Regardless, it isfrustrating to me, because it frustrates my efforts to help youlearn. Which brings us to the next point.
You're hurting yourself
If you think that you can cheat your way through college, get yourdegree, and then after graduation jump right in to a successful career,you're in for a very rude awakening (well, maybe not if Mommy or Daddyowns the company, but that scenario has its own set of issues).For one thing, increasingly, employers have software developmentcandidates complete detailed testing before they're hired. Evenif you found a way to cheat through that testing (highly doubtful), itwouldn't take long for your employer to figure out that you're cluelessand show you the door. Beyond that, if you haven't developedqualities like self-discipline, tenacity, and forthrightness--qualitiesthat you are almost certainly deficient in if you are a cheater--thenyou're unlikely to be very successful in the working world. Oh,you might find a job somewhere. But it probably will not be verydesirable, and you'll probably be one of the first to be let go whenthe next industry downturn hits. The fact is, you'll be lackingboth software skills and some key personal qualities. So why doyou think anyone is going to want to hire you and keep you when thegoing gets tough?What's the alternative to cheating? Face the facts: you don'tknow how to do the assignment, or you waited to long to start, orwhatever. So, tackle the underlying problem head-on rather thantrying to cover it up. Talk to your professor about getting anextension and getting help before the next assignment is due. Usethis experience to give you motivation to do better, to develop moreself-discipline and tenacity. Try to become the person you wouldhave been pretending to be if you had cheated. You may not getall the way there, but you'll be a better person for having tried,someone that can look a potential employer in the eye and say, "I maynot have the best transcript you've ever seen, but I can tell you thatI earned every bit of those grades. I know how to work, and Iwill do whatever I can to pull my own weight." Your letters ofrecommendation will probably say much the same thing: "we're proud ofhow hard this student worked, and we're confident that they'll workhard for employers." On the other hand, if you've cheated in myclasses, you might want to think long and hard before asking me towrite a letter for you, because I believe in sharing the good and thebad about students in recommendation letters.
You're hurting the whole class
If I don't catch your lie--I suppose that it does happen--then youmight receive a much better grade on an assignment than youdeserve. Meanwhile, students who are struggling to understand thesame material but turning in their own work might receive worse grades,even though they might understand the material better than youdo. Is this fair to the student who didn't cheat? No.More than that, when it gets out that you cheated (and it probablywill, you know), how's this student going to feel about you? Whatif he or she says, "Why am I bothering to try to do this myself? I'mjust going to start cheating as well." Do you want to contributeto their slide into the muck you're in?In fact, the problem goes beyond the effect on any one individual inthe class. If you and others cheat rather than letting it beknown that you're struggling, I may well get the impression that I canmaintain or even accelerate the pace of a class that is already goingtoo fast. In effect, you've made it worse for you and everyoneelse in the class who is struggling.
