<p>Hi. This yr I was involved in a cheating scandal with 2 other friends. Basically, I helped another kid on his take-home test. This kid (Kid A) also sought help from another kid (kid B). Kid A sought help because the teacher did not teach the material. I knew how to do it and helped him. We were caught and all of us were suspended. I received word a few days ago that the principal had lifted the suspension for A & B. A's parent said the principal (after talking to the parents) said he would contact me early July (the parents of A & B sought contact with him first). I contacted him a few days ago, but he has asked to see me without explaining to me if I am exonerated as well. Should I accept to see him face to face? I have a bad feeling about this...</p>
<p>A & B were let off because the principal figured out that the teacher was actually quite incompetent in his subject and did not teach. </p>
<p>I helped A but also in an email told him the stuff he should look out for. B did not do that.</p>
<p>Is there any possibilities that the principal may still want to keep the suspension on my record while the other two are left completely off the hook? Their records are completely wiped clean.</p>
<p>Could this have anything to do with the fact that I am a minority and the other two are whites?</p>
<p>I am a very good student, possibly 2nd or 1st in my class, all 5's on APs, and great SAT score.</p>
<p>In my eyes A is way more responsible than I am; therefore, if the suspension were kept for me, it should at least be kept for him..</p>
<p>Thank you for reading... please give me some advice</p>
<p>I want to know if I should meet him in person or not. I want to know what I should do if he keeps this on my record while he wiped the other two people’s records clean.</p>
<p>First off, I can’t judge you as to whether you should be punished or not. i don’t know the minor details, what exactly happened, the magnitude of the test, your school policy, etc. but here are some pointers.</p>
<p>1) OF COURSE you should meet him, you need to explain to him your side of the incident and explain to your principal why you feel you should also be exonerated. not meeting him will do nothing for you, maybe even hurt you. meeting him will let you have your say, maintain your honor, and find out what his decision is. and why didn’t you seek to speak to the principal earlier? the parents of A and B already spoke to him, you should have been there at that time too. take some responsibility!</p>
<p>2) yes, there is a chance the principal might choose not to let you off the hook. from what it sounds like, kid A and B were in the class, and you either finished the class already or had a different teacher. their excuse is that they had no idea what they were doing. they still cheated though. you are guilty of helping them. you still cheated, but maybe you have an explanation. if you don’t, i’m sorry.</p>
<p>3) don’t try to push it off on the idea that you’re a minority. i don’t care, i’m a minority too. we’re all human. quit looking at the color of your skin and start looking at the facts and your conscience. take responsibility for your actions, and explain the facts of what happened. your principal is probably going to judge you on what happened.</p>
<p>4) point out that you’re a good student, and that maintaining a good record is in your best interests. but remember–even good students are humans and make mistakes. you did what you did. don’t rely on the fact you’re a good student to prove that you didn’t help someone cheat.</p>
<p>5) who cares about how responsible A is? A was on the receiving side. you were on the sending side. two totally different cases.</p>
<p>point out that you’re a stellar student and that the suspension could affect your college plans. if he doesn’t relent, play the race card. but DO NOT try to say that it was just as much the other kid’s fault, because then you’re shifting blame around rather than taking responsibility, which will make the principal mad. and yes, you need to meet with him.</p>
<p>i disagree with choklitRain on the race card issue. don’t play it, because honestly all you’re going to do is **** off the principal in showing that you would bend that low. only play the facts. if he chooses not to exonerate, well, live with it. there’s an “additional comments” box on every college application in which you can still explain your side of the story. heck, you can even write an essay on it and tell about what you learned.</p>
<p>kemkid - We’re in the same class. B helped A first and probably knew more about this subject than I did. I didn’t meet with him before because the other two never informed me about their meeting (I thought there was no possible way to get it appealed) until they have gotten it taken off.</p>
<p>the race card will bring the magic word to the principal’s mind: LAW SUIT. honestly, he wants two things: the students to go to good colleges, and no law suits. so play the college card and the race card. the assignment of blame or the exact details of the incident? far less important.</p>
<p>but don’t go in there guns blazing. be civil, polite, and apologetic. he will probably lift the suspension. if he flat out says that he’s not lifting it, that’s when you play your cards.</p>
<p>"point out that you’re a stellar student and that the suspension could affect your college plans. if he doesn’t relent, play the race card. "</p>
<p>I’m black, too, and I think it’s shameful that instead of feeling remorse and shame about what you’ve done, you seem to think you should be let off the hook because you’re black, and because if it remains on your record, the cheating may hurt your college admissions.</p>
<p>If I were the principal and you told me those things, I’d throw the book at you. If I were your parents, I would be letting you take full punishment for your actions (and believe me, I’ve done that to my kids).</p>
<p>The only reason I would consider lifting your punishment if I were the principal would be if you showed what I thought was genuine remorse, accepted responsibility for your actions, and appeared to have learned a lesson about not cheating again. If you just whined that you deserved to not be punished because you’re black, and the punishment was lifted for the others, I’d leave what you did on your record.</p>
<p>It’s too bad that you’re parents are supporting you in your idea that somehow you deserve to have the punishment lifted. Seems you’re learning the wrong lesson from being caught cheating.</p>
<p>Please take Northstarmom’s advice and try to develop your sense of remorse. You should meet with the principal, but you should also spend time thinking about what your role was in this and what you would do differently if you had another chance. Be honest with the principal and with yourself. Listen to any words of advice your principal has to offer you about the problems you all had with your teacher.</p>
<p>You forget the fact that a lot of high schools have administrators who choose favorites. I don’t think you should play the race card unless racism is evident, and although it is “shocking” for us to believe, a lot of administrators in schools today are incompetent. I think you should just fess up to it and be like “I’m sorry, I did something shady”. Its not a big deal- as long as you realize what you did was wrong.</p>
<p>I find it absolutely abhorrent that you, or anyone else, would suggest pulling the race card. What you did was wrong and you should take responsiblity for your actions.</p>
<p>" I don’t think you should play the race card unless racism is evident, and although it is “shocking” for us to believe, a lot of administrators in schools today are incompetent."</p>
<p>Why pull the race card at all? The OP cheated and deserves whatever punishment the principal gives him. That the other people had their suspensions lifted may have nothing to do with race, but may be due to the general circumstances and their attitude or even the fact that they are less advanced than is the OP (since the OP appears to have taken the class earlier). The idea that the OP’s parents are considering suing or playing the race card indicates to me that the OP thinks what he did is fine and he doesn’t deserve punishment.</p>