<p>midatlmom - i meant that both sides have very plausible arguments, ones that can be sustained by many speculations of both the press and the authors themselves.</p>
<p>harvard has yet to make any comment as to the future of this failure of this dishonest and undeserving author (yes, I believe also that she Must have done what she did Very Very Very consciously, and it's ludicrous to think that she didn't) "But, as Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross 71 ominously told The Crimson in an e-mail, 'Nevertheless, we expect Harvard students to conduct themselves with integrity and honesty at all times.'" (<a href="http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=513035%5B/url%5D">http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=513035</a>)</p>
<p>I am predicting also that nothing will become of her at harvard, it doesn't mean that her future will be too bright, at least it can be expected that her writing career will be over. Especially since books like these are usually one-wonder hits and unless she comes up with another corny novel that can receive teenage publicity, the chances of the publishers coming near her when she's writing novels that can be easily plagiarized (and since she will have a record) is highly unlikely.</p>
<p>hmm.. i've been reading a lot at the crimson papers to get an idea of what harvard thinks but is it just me, or does it seem that the press is getting some heat to support and play off on the hearts of the audience to let Viswanathan off? it seems there's a great slant toward that side, and it's put in the opinion section, so can't get an unbiased view from the press. at first they were harsh on her, now they're so soft. i wonder what's the real opinion of harvard?</p>
<p>Again, DID YOU ACTUALLY TAKE THE TROUBLE OF READING ANY OF THE RELEVANT LINKS??</p>
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<p>I'm sorry, I'm not interested in participating in a screaming match. If this thread returns to reasonable adult conversation in the future, I'll be back.</p>
<p>Not to hijack the thread or anything, but what effect do you guys think this whole situation will have on admissions for next year? As a junior at the school that Viswanathan attended, I'm a little worried that this negative press might spill over to my school, and it might hurt my chances during the app process.</p>
<p>Harvard won't do anything to her even if she is 100% guilty because I'm pretty sure the administration would side with its students that it accepted regardless of the situation...because then the integrity of Harvard's admissions process would be jeopardized by this PR scandal.</p>
<p>She seriously makes me sick. Hello connections. The thing is, there are so many people who deserve her opportunities. And now she's selling more than ever.</p>
<p>Her attitude towards this whole thing makes me want to hurl. Does she honestly think that anyone believes her?</p>
<p>It's a natural tendency to deny it as much as you can even if you know you're wrong. Who would say "Ok, ok, I consciously went through a couple books, picked out some sentences and copied them almost exactly. Whoops!"</p>
<p>She's more likely to resort to a weak defense than to admit full blame.</p>
<p>I was just going thru the Harvard thread and just stumbled on this most juicy thread.
Gracie, FWIW re post #74, 2 authors-
1) Rimbaud (Le Bateau Ivre- A hugely influential poem in its time),
2) Francoise Sagan (Bonjour Tristesse - Originator of the genre that Ms Viswanathan now so awkwardly dabbles in)
"Out of the mouths of Babes":
"Viswanathan had told rediff.com just about a week ago that though literature was her passion, she wanted to 'dabble in the financial world'." Money matters indeed.
"I am the first person in the family -- aunts, uncles, cousins -- who has ever shown the slightest inclination to be creative side,". (Both quotes from rediff.com) And what has she created!! Or did she?
Undoubtedly the girl is very smart, but a cursory review of what she has said and done since being "outed" manages to create the simultaneous impression of cynicism and naivete. Prior to being caught she is influenced by nobody. After being caught she she is so soo sorry to have unwittingly betrayed fellow author McCafferty, who she absolutely adores, idolizes, apparently forgets, and most evidently internalizes. You see, it wasn't really SHE that plagiarized, it was that devilish "internalisation" process that made her do it. Mindful that McCafferty might not be aware of her innocence, she makes an appeal to Ms Couric in person and across the airwaves to Ms McAfferty (and should they be listening, the rest of the Today show audience), to clarify the wondrous and unpredictable ways of "internalisation". Judging from Ms McCafferty's lawyers declarations, as well as Ms Couric's comments, she was not very persuasive. Oh, but never mind, she magnanimously offers to clear up the offending bits from FUTURE editions. Once this nasty dustup clears, she should be able to resume her upward trajectory, which she has worked sooo hard (spent HOURS in the corner of the library while everybody else was having a normal life!!!) to propel.</p>
<p>Viswanathan has plagiarized, no doubt about it.</p>
<p>however, does this mean that she is a bad writer? i havnt read her book completely, but some of the ideas in her work are truly reflective of the problems that many south asian students face. i could relate to, for example, the part where opal goes to give the harvard interview and the way her parents act prior to that interview. just because she plagiarized doesnot mean she is a "bad writer."</p>
<p>plus, look at this thing more closely. she got into HARVARD. i'm sure she got in not because of her writing career only, but because of other qualifications. and she did manage to get her works published, which attained moderate success even before all the controvercy.she deserves some credit.</p>
<p>Viswanathan should be punished for her acts. i agree with that. however, she shouldnt be rejected by society as a "bad"/"evil"/""stupid" person just because of this.</p>
<p>Ricardo--To be fair, she did manage to create an entire book. 40 passages are significant but that doesn't completely diminish her accomplishments.</p>
<p>Sorry, I hate to seem like I'm siding with her, I'm not, I'm just playing the other side ;)</p>
<p>I said I was done discussing this thread, but I'll reitirate what I stated earlier. </p>
<p>She didn't just copy the passages. She copied the exact same characters, scenario, plot, story lines, and specific actions. The sole difference is that in McCafferty's book we have a New Jersey white girl, and in Viswanathan's book we have an Indian girl.</p>
<p>The 40 identical passages were just the icing on the cake. A little clue the teenage author dropped so that everyone knew her original source.</p>
<p>And again, publishing houses today are incompetent. This isn't some small company. This is Little Brown, one of the largest publishers in the US.</p>
<p>You guys couldn't figure out the similarities to a bestseller in the same language and genre written by a famous author in 2001??</p>
<p>Should we replace you incompetents with an army of trained chimps?? At least we could pay the primates in bananas, and they'd put in an honest day's work.</p>