Honor Code Violation - What Do I Do?

Parents Forum
1

<p>I was just informed that I am being accused of violating my university's honor code. The specific charges listed are "plagiarism" and "cheating". I know that most kids who receive honor code violations genuinely deserve them, but please hear me out, as there are situational contingencies that make my case unique. </p>

<p>Long story short, my roommates CRAZY INSANE ex-girlfriend sent an e-mail to my art history teacher (I took the class last semester) saying that I had been getting someone to sign me into class for the majority of the semester. This is where the cheating charge comes from, as attendance (or lack thereof) could technically affect my grade. Now, this girl absolutely hates me, as she attributes her break up with my roommate to being my fault. She has essentially tried to make my life a living hell, sending me messages threatening to get me in trouble for this and that if she doesn't get her way. She sent this message solely out of spite in an effort to get me kicked out of school. She has a disciplinary record as long as bible, and a history of making false accusations. In fact just a few weeks ago the police were called to my room as she had accused my roommate of assaulting her. I am hoping to use this history, and some of the threatening messages she sent me, to prove my innocence.</p>

<p>The "evidence" submitted supporting this charge was a copy of the semester's sign-in sheet; my teacher noted "inconsistencies" in my signature, and wrote that she did not recognize my face by the end of the year. There are absolutely inconsistencies with my signature on the sign-in sheet, namely, however, because I would usually just write down a scribble out of laziness. Attendance was taken at the end of class, so everyone would rush to the front to sign-in so they could leave. The boxes we were to sign were very small, so I would often simply put down a random scribble instead of taking the time to write my entire signature. I hardly see “inconsistencies” in my signatures as legitimate evidence of my guilt, especially considering that most people’s signatures on the sign-in sheet had inconsistencies as well. This is a crazy thing to charge me with cheating for. Nevertheless, I have two people who are willing to give written testimony that I did in fact attend class regularly, and so I hope that this will help my case.</p>

<p>I was also accused of plagiarism. Specifically, I was accused of making up sources on a research paper. I assume after being notified of my “cheating” by my roommates psycho ex-girlfriend, my art history teacher relooked at all of my semester’s works for evidence of more cheating. In the formal accusation, my teacher wrote that the sources I cited had nothing to do with my paper, and that I must have just looked up articles with titles relevant to my topic and used them for citations. After hours and hours of going through my paper again, it became very apparent to me that I made some pretty big mistakes in my citations, but NOTHING ACADEMICALLY DISHONEST. I had pulled an all-nighter writing this paper, and the last thing I included were the citations, which I screwed up somehow because only about half of them make sense. However, none of these sources were made up; I used all of them to research my paper, and simply mixed some of them up or put down the wrong page number. For example, I may have put (Wilson 88) instead of (Wilson 78), or (Mark 69) instead of (James 69). It is true that the relevancy of some sources is questionable or a bit of a stretch, but that’s how research papers work: if you need to include 15 sources, not all 15 are going to cover every aspect of your topic. If anything, I am guilty of rushing through my bibliography or having shoddy citationwork. All the ideas in the paper were my own, any quote I used was accounted for (although possibly improperly), and any general idea I got from an outside source was referenced (again, although possibly improperly.) I was working on this paper literally up until the second it was due, and despite the fact that the paper itself got an A, I had to rush through the citationwork which seems to have resulted in a significant amount of topographical error. Anyways, what I am trying to say is that I did not plagiarize anything, I simply had to rush my citations. The research is all legit, the words my own, and I did reference my sources - just incorrectly. </p>

<p>I did not do anything unethical in either of these situations, yet I have a hearing with the Honor Board in a couple of days to decide my fate. I am trying to go to medical school, so an honor code would pretty much be game over for me. I did not get caught cheating, I have simply been caught in the crossfire of a crazy girl’s personal vendetta. I take full responsibility for my laziness with the sign-in sheet and rushing citations in my research paper, but I DID NOT BREAK ANY RULES.</p>

<p>I am trying to figure out what to do next in order to ensure that I do not get an honor code violation. Should I try to talk to my teacher, or should I just wait for my hearing with the Honor Board? Please help!</p>

2

<ol>
<li><p>If you haven’t already done so, check your school’s website and student handbook (if any) and find out what the rules are. At some schools you aren’t allowed to contact the prof once the charges are filed, so before doing that make sure it won’t make matters worse. At lots of schools, you are allowed to have some act as your adviser during the hearing. If you are allowed to have one, get one ASAP. </p></li>
<li><p>Call your parents and tell them what’s going on, if you haven’t already. I’m a parent. Believe me, they’ll want to help you and the sooner you tell them the better. It MAY be advisable to consult an attorney. </p></li>
<li><p>If you have an academic adviser, you may want to talk to him/her to get advice.</p></li>
<li><p>Prepare your “evidence.” The formal rules of evidence won’t apply, but I think it would be good to have copies of all the sources you used, so you can show that all your ideas were in the sources you listed. I think it will be more credible if you can show that, while you may have cited the wrong source in a footnote, you did list all the sources in your bibliography and you just messed up. </p></li>
<li><p>At the hearing, do NOT focus on the motivations of the ex-girlfriend. Lets say she’s out to get you–that doesn’t prove that she’s lying. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t mention the reasons for her acts; I am saying that even if you convince the committee her motive is pure revenge, they aren’t going to let you off the hook if they think you did what you’re accused of. So, focus on the allegations against you–not her.</p></li>
<li><p>There’s a similar thread on the parents’ board. Read through it and see if there are any good ideas there for your situation.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Good luck!</p>

3

<p>You should consult with your parents, and also seek out resources on your campus, such as advisors or Student Affairs ombudsmen, who can assist you in the hearing.</p>

<p>Take the time to go back through your paper and annotate every incorrect citation - leave the incorrect one in place, but add the correct bibliographic reference in bold, italics or some other differentiating factor. That should show that while you did a poor job writing the citations and a sloppy editing job, you clearly intended to correctly source the passages and the corresponding bibliographical reference entries existed in your paper. That is to say, you made significant editorial mistakes rather than committing intentional plagiarism.</p>

4

<p>I just talked to my roommate and he said that he could probably get his ex-girlfriend to send an email to my art history professor essentially recanting her original email. Should I still not bring it up at the hearing even if she admits she made it all up?</p>

5

<p>If you have that kind of direct evidence of malicious behavior, it’s certainly worth introducing.</p>

6

<p>Did your teacher tell you about the girl’s email? Or it’s just your guess?
You can tell her that you will sue her if she actually sent the email and you were totally clean.</p>

7

<p>Do you have people that can vouch that you were in class?
Do you have your notes from class to show you were there?</p>

<p>The second one just hold your hands up to being human, as long as it was a mix up and not random rubbish.</p>

<p>Leave out the things about the room mates ex girlfriend as long as you can, just be clear and calm.</p>

8

<p>I disagree with the exgirlfriend advice. I would try to get her to both send the email, and get a copy of it. So you have that as part of your evidence. But also have people that can vouch for your attendance in class. You need to disprove her accusations, even if she recants. </p>

<p>The recommendation re: your bib on corrections seems spot on. Go back through your bib and put the correct info in bold, and copy the page that proves it to attach as evidence. </p>

<p>And definitely tell your parents. </p>

<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using CC</p>

9

<p>Yes, I have 2 people who are going to give me written statements saying I was in class, and one person who is going to come in and testify as a witness that I went to class on a regular basis. I was also able to get the girl who accused me to send an email to my art history professor saying that she had been mistaken in her original claim. I could not get her to say she made the whole thing up, as it would get her in trouble, but her recanting is at least a small victory for the cheating charge.</p>

10

<p>Do you have dated, contemporaneous lecture notes from the class?</p>

11

<p>Don’t do an all-nighter again.</p>

12

<p>Sounds like you have great advice here. </p>

<p>Please let us know how it turns out</p>

13

<p>The student should argue as his/her defense, that he was lazy and uncaring, and sloppy with his work; but not a cheater.</p>

14

<p>The temptation might be to figure out the “right thing” to say to steer clear of trouble. The “right thing” is telling the truth, whatever that is, because it cannot be refuted and you don’t have to worry about making sure your story fits. I agree you should include your parents, seek out whatever support your school has (I was an honor advisor at my university-we helped students on both sides of an investigation-you do have the right to being guided through so that your rights are protected). </p>

<p>I agree with having friend’s ex girlfriend write the letter absolving you and get a copy of that. Gather whatever evidence-class notes, affadavits from classmates, calendar notations- proving you attended class and proving you did the research.</p>

<p>At the same time, look inward, determine if there is any truth to the accusations, and proceed honestly. If you did any of what is being accused but you don’t admit to it and you manage to avoid an honor sanction, you may get to medical school but may also lose a piece of yourself with the integrity you give up. Look inward, then be forthcoming with whatever the truth is, and if any of it causes you to suffer consequences, then it does.</p>

<p>Your life will not end and your future will be on more solid footing if you are able to look in the mirror and know you looked for the best in others and gave the best you had.</p>

15

<p>I was just informed that I was found guilty of both charges. </p>

<p>This is absolutely mind blowing given the evidence supporting me vs. the evidence against me. ie for the “cheating” charge, I had 2 signed affidavits saying I attended class, verbal testimony that I attended class, a recantment by the original accuser, etc. The only evidence against me was the “inconsistencies” in my signature - a completely subjective judgement that could be applied to 95% of the students on the sign-in sheet.</p>

<p>As for the plagiarism charge, I cannot possibly fathom how they found me guilty, considering I brought in my paper and accounted for every single citation they questioned. </p>

<p>I was able to talk to an advisor who used to serve on the Honor Board and he looked my case before my hearing and said there was nothing to indicate I was guilty of either charge. He told me for the cheating charge that the evidence was simply not there, and for the plagiarism charge, that my mistakes simply showed carelessness but nothing academically dishonest. Yet I was still found guilty, given convictions for both charges, and given an F in the class that I worked hard for to get an A in. This is absolutely ridiculous.</p>

<p>I am now preparing my appeal, although I have pretty much lost all hope in the integrity of the justice system at my school. I plan to have as many people read my essay as possible, including an expert on plagiarism from Turnitin.com. I am simply working under the assumption that eventually the truth will have to come to light, but I honestly don’t know what to do at this point.</p>

16

<p>Follow your school’s appeal process. There is nothing else you can do.</p>

17

<p>Who and how many sit on the board? Teachers? Administrators? Students? What is the sanction? Do you get kicked out of school?</p>

18

<p>I know how upset you must be. I was accused (not found guilty though, thank god) of stealing a girl’s lab in Physics. The girl was obsessed with my boyfriend. Luckily the teacher supported me instead of the girl and she got in trouble instead.</p>

19

<p>So sorry. Please let us know how your appeal goes.</p>

20

<p>Good luck on your appeal.</p>