<p>Yeah, it's hard to figure out why any reporter found this newsworthy.</p>
<p>As for the punishment, I guess it's light (as far as punishments for cheating are concerned) because the students violated an unwritten, and pretty much unspoken rule. If a teacher shows her power point exaclty once in prepraration for each quiz, and never distrubutes copies, students should gather than they are not permitted to have copies. My son asked one time if he could see the power point again because he had missed a few things; he was turned down and told to look at someone else's notes. He can't have been the only one to have had this experience. If the teacher told you you couldn't see the power point again, you'd assume it would be wrong to download a copy.</p>
<p>I've heard that this was not an isolated instance, but that students downloaded the power points both semesters. It does sort of tick me off that their grades will be allowed to stand.</p>