Students Debate Over Cheating in College
Ariane Rasmussen Staff Reporter
Issue date: 10/20/05 Section: Perspectives
Studies have shown that 80 percent of all college students admit to cheating at least once.
The term cheating can be defined and performed in serveral ways. Among the many techniques, the most common include, but are not limited to, getting answers prior to an exam or important assignment via a friend or the Internet, or using almost anything from hiding cheat sheets on body parts, and even clothing to aid in the cheating process.
The majority of students are strongly against cheating whether it's premeditated, plagiarizing, or copying each other's work. However, that isn't always the case.
When asked about cheating, "despicable" was the one word used by sophomore Adam Rua from Bridgeport to summarize his feelings towards the general concept.
"It was aggravating to see someone copy someone who actually worked hard. It occurred too much [when I was in high school]. [In college,] people are more mature and knowledgeable so people don't do it as often and usually have their own answers. It is pathetic to be in school paying $33,000 a year just to not know what the hell you're doing," said Rua.
"I never cheated because I want to get my degree knowing I earned it," said Chris Grova, junior, Seymour.
Even the students who admitted to cheating or assisting others in doing so, had negative feelings about the whole idea.
Reasons for cheating vary but usually include a need to excel academically whether due to a student's own pressure and expectations or that of others. Cheating is usually results from a lack of confidence, pressure, or lack of preparation and studying. While some students believe that parental pressure contributes to the likelihood of them cheating, others disagree.
"Most of the time I cheated when I had no idea what the class was about, which probably meant that the teacher was doing a horrible job teaching. I didn't feel bad, I just feel that I didn't learn a thing," said a junior from Bridgeport.
The term cheating can be defined and performed in serveral ways. Among the many techniques, the most common include, but are not limited to, getting answers prior to an exam or important assignment via a friend or the Internet, or using almost anything from hiding cheat sheets on body parts, and even clothing to aid in the cheating process.
The majority of students are strongly against cheating whether it's premeditated, plagiarizing, or copying each other's work. However, that isn't always the case.
When asked about cheating, "despicable" was the one word used by sophomore Adam Rua from Bridgeport to summarize his feelings towards the general concept.
"It was aggravating to see someone copy someone who actually worked hard. It occurred too much [when I was in high school]. [In college,] people are more mature and knowledgeable so people don't do it as often and usually have their own answers. It is pathetic to be in school paying $33,000 a year just to not know what the hell you're doing," said Rua.
"I never cheated because I want to get my degree knowing I earned it," said Chris Grova, junior, Seymour.
Even the students who admitted to cheating or assisting others in doing so, had negative feelings about the whole idea.
Reasons for cheating vary but usually include a need to excel academically whether due to a student's own pressure and expectations or that of others. Cheating is usually results from a lack of confidence, pressure, or lack of preparation and studying. While some students believe that parental pressure contributes to the likelihood of them cheating, others disagree.
"Most of the time I cheated when I had no idea what the class was about, which probably meant that the teacher was doing a horrible job teaching. I didn't feel bad, I just feel that I didn't learn a thing," said a junior from Bridgeport.