Academic Dishonesy - I'm torn.

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi guys.</p>

<p>I am an undergrad student at a local community college. </p>

<p>I turned in an essay which required me to go to a historical archive look up primary sources, and cite them. Instead of going to the archive, I looked up primary sources on the internet, and cited them as if they were from the archive. </p>

<p>When I turned in my paper online, my teacher presumably ran it through TurnItIn.com, which turned up negative. He has since given me an A on the paper, and an A in the class. He also wants to post all of our class's papers on a collaboration website.</p>

<p>This is no doubt a serious case of academic dishonesty, and I honestly had no idea what I was getting into when I committed this crime. In retrospect, not only is this plagiarism, but also fabrication.</p>

<p>I swear on who ever is up there watching me right now, that I'm not a bad guy. Yes I admit that I copied notes in high school and what not. I didn't do so hot there, but I promised myself a fresh start in CC. I have since been on the Dean's list every quarter with a current GPA of 3.93.</p>

<p>I swear I didn't cheat at all in CC, not even the note copying, and I want to take responsibility. I want to tell my parents just what the hell I did, I want to walk into the teacher's office and confess, and I no longer want to constantly have this haunt my soul. </p>

<p>But whats stopping me from confessing is this. My teacher stated on his syllabus that he will give me a zero on my paper which I am willing to accept, but more importantly, he will notify the Dean of Student Affairs. My school has a honor code policy that includes probation, suspension, and expulsion. </p>

<p>Which is basically zero tolerance. </p>

<p>Is there no second chance? A chance for honest redemption?</p>

<p>Will I have a chance to go to school after this? Considering they will probably have this on record. And If so, no other institution will ever accept me. </p>

<p>I am the first generation of my family to go to college. While I worry about my future, I worry about theirs more. They work such long hours with a sister who has speech disabilities. And while they encourage me to pursue a career I want which was initially film, I have changed career paths for the purpose of supporting them. My sister is severely behind in school, but I spend around 1 and a half hours a day tutoring her. </p>

<p>If I confess to my teacher privately, and explain to him my situation do you think he will be lenient? I cannot live the rest of my life, transfer to a university, with this hanging over my head. I understand that if I get found, my CC while no doubt inform my Uni, and they will kick me out. I am three quarters in my college career. </p>

<p>What do you think I should do? For not only my sake, but my family's also.</p>

<p>You can read this and pass your judgement, but I swear I'm not a bad guy. I feel so ashamed and so remorseful. I just want a second chance.</p>

<p>Thanks for hearing me out.</p>

2

<p>Oh my gosh I actually feel bad reading this. You made a mistake. Everyone does. I have idea what the appropriate course of action is, but the first thing I would do if I were you is: gather each of the primary sources (how many were there?) and go to this historical archive ASAP. See if any of these sources are in the archive. You never know.</p>

3

<p>I really feel bad for you and your situation…it’s a tough one. Most professors and instructors are really understanding …but i’m not really sure what to tell you. Like if you told your instructor what you did, I’m sure he would penalize less severely and gain more respect for you. I recommend telling your parents or somebody you’re closer to about the situation.</p>

<p>alwaysleah said most everything I could say… everybody does make a mistake.</p>

<p>But yeah. try talking to somebody your close to and outline a fair course of action.</p>

4

<p>@ always- The archive does have material about the subject. But not the specific journal entry, picture, etc… I am planning to visit the archive in earnest this Monday. What do you have in mind?</p>

<p>@ howmany - do you have any personal experiences with these understanding professors? I attend his class every day, which can’t be said of everyone. I have done all his other assignments with honesty. He seems like a really honest and friendly guy to talk to. He is very friendly to our class.</p>

<p>Maybe I can take a few more of his classes and do really well and confront him later? My close friends have said to let it wait out. I am taking a few more of his classes. And we are writing another paper like this. They say to write a stellar paper, and ask him to upload that one to the website instead.</p>

<p>This is again being dishonest no doubt, but in the face of a zero tolerance policy, I need to think about my families future. I don’t mind making a five figure income, but the future of my sister is very much in question.</p>

<p>God I feel like crap. I made a mistake and want to own up to it. I am praying so much. Honesty is the best policy, and I know and have always known that. I should have been honest when I first wrote the paper. But whats done is done, and realistically, being honest really isn’t the best option in this current situation.</p>

5

<p>I was just thinking that possibly you could find these sources in the archive and then just tell your professor you made a horrible mix up and you cited your sources incorrectly. </p>

<p>If these sources aren’t in the archive, I think you should speak with your professor in earnest. Just tell him that you’ve made a horrible mistake and you’re haunted by it daily. Tell him about the incredible pressure you are under due to your sister’s illness, and that after one particularly difficult day of speech therapy were unable to get to the archive and instead looked up the sources on the Internet. Say that you are really sorry, and that you have really learned your lesson and would never do something like this again. </p>

<p>I think there is a good chance that no one would ever notice what you did, even if your paper is uploaded. However, if you really can’t stop thinking about it, then you need to talk it over with him so that you can effectively live your life again. </p>

<p>I HIGHLY doubt that a CC would suspend or expel a student like you, especially on a first infraction. It’s not like you hired someone to write your essay or anything. A lot of this rides on whether your professor is someone who seems like he is understanding? What do you think?</p>

6

<p>You know what, I think you should repost this in the forum called “Parent Cafe.” There are lots of amazing, qualified professionals over there who I think could advise you quite well.</p>

7

<p>I think he is a really friendly teacher and seems very approachable. I have only had him for one quarter though. If I do approach him, should I do it as soon as possible, or maybe wait another quarter to get to know him more?</p>

<p>Also grades have been released just today, and on my unofficial transcript, my academic standing is blank. Do they generally wait longer to give a standing, or am I too late to take the initiative?</p>

8

<p>I would do it soon. I would hate for you to be worried about this for two to three months. It sounds like he may be understanding and perhaps not even report it if you are lucky. </p>

<p>I’m not sure about the academic standing thing, as I’m not particularly familiar with community colleges. Maybe go over to the CC forum and ask? I don’t think it is a sign that they’ve figured it out though. Don’t you think they would have contacted you before just taking away your standing?</p>

9

<p>If he’s not charging you, why are you going to admit it? Just learn from it and move on.</p>

10

<p>Were u only to use the archive? Was that specifically worded in the assignment? Use archive only?</p>

11

<p>@ Orbit - Although I have learned my lesson, believe me, try living your life with a guillotine like this over your neck, I worry if I continue on to a university, my CC may find out and inform them, which will likely result in me getting expelled from their also. I hope that by taking the initiative and showing him I’m an honest person by confessing before anyone finds out, that he will maybe be lenient. </p>

<p>@ Seahorse - Yes, you were supposed to use the archive. I instead looked up what the archive had, and looked up sources on the internet - citing the internet sources as if they were from the archive. </p>

<hr>

<p>Does anyone know if academic suspension, or academic probation will exclude me from a TAG agreement with the UC system? Thanks. This is because if not, I will go ahead and turn myself in, taking a leap of faith that I will not get expelled.</p>

<p>I know this all sounds cold, conniving, and frankly dishonest. But please, I had a lapse of judgement. I know that. I’m just trying to work this out in a system where a chance of redemption is so bleak. We’ve all made mistakes. I just want to learn from mine.</p>

12

<p>I would rather live with it. It ismlike confessing to an affair when no one knows. I woud let it be.</p>