Samantha Chaffin
Editor-in-Chief
Cheating on coursework is something that is frowned upon at every level of education, particularly college.
A simple Google search will return literally thousands of results linking to stories of cheating scandals and plagiarism in college settings, many of the results recent. Not only is the cheating epidemic present at ISU, but nationwide.
Thankfully, my degree field is one where the degree is secondary to demonstrated skill and ability through writing samples and interview fields. Not all college degree fields work this way.
Until recently, it was something that I didn’t consider a huge issue at Idaho State University, not because I didn’t think it was an issue in itself but rather because I didn’t think it was happening often or at all in our community.
As I’m sure is the case for many students, I have always heard whispers and rumors that there are students who get paid to write papers, take tests or complete assignments for other students but I had never experienced or witnessed such things and, therefore, dismissed it.
Recently, I have heard more and more talk about students being paid to complete coursework for other students, and it has reached the point where I have something to say about it, and you should too.
As difficult and stressful as collegiate coursework often is, by not completing your own coursework, you not only cheapen your own learning and your own degree but you also cheapen my degree and everyone else’s, too.
As the job market becomes increasingly competitive, more and more individuals are seeking college degrees to help give them an edge over other applicants.
The result of students cheating their way through degrees is college graduates who lack the skills and abilities that their degree would typically suggest, therefore diminishing the meaning of that college degree in the eyes of many employers, as they see that even someone who doesn’t have desired job skills can still earn a degree.
That means that those of us who have worked hard for our degrees and to learn the skills required of us are cheated out of the recognition we deserve because of those who cheated their way into degrees. I can’t even count the times I’ve heard someone say that anyone can get a degree.
I know for certain that I don’t want to find myself extremely ill, faced with a doctor who cheated his or her way through college. The same goes for lawyers, computer analysts, cosmetologists, journalists, teachers and just about any other profession imaginable. I assume most everyone reading this would agree with me.
I realize that in many, and perhaps even most, cases of cheating at the collegiate level, it occurs only a few times or in courses that supposedly don’t matter, such as a biology course for an English major or vice versa.
The question is, where do we draw the line? Who decides which classes do and don’t matter? Don’t they all technically matter if they are required for your degree?
I hope my fellow students here at ISU will stop and think about the issues, both ethical and otherwise, that arise from cheating and the repercussions that could follow. More so, I hope those who see these cases of cheating happening around them will speak up for the sake of themselves and everyone else in the college community.
