Fourth time’s the charm
A senior was referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs (SJA) for plagiarism in his upper division English class. This was the student’s fourth referral to SJA (three times for plagiarism), and as a result he was on disciplinary probation. In an e-mail to the department chair after his first referral, the student claimed that he had been cleared of any wrongdoing by SJA when, in fact, he had admitted to plagiarizing his paper. This constituted the student’s second referral because it is a violation of policy to provide false information to a university employee. In light of his most recent referral for plagiarism, the student had his graduation delayed until the end of Summer Session II, 2012.
“Those who do not learn from history…”
A junior engineering student was referred to SJA for plagiarism in his upper division history class. This was the student’s third referral to SJA for plagiarism. The student copied directly from several websites and did not cite them. He later claimed that he had plagiarized because he did not understand the material well enough to put it in his own words and conceded that he should have consulted a TA or instructor for help. Due to the student’s previous disciplinary record and his status of being on disciplinary probation at the time of the violation, the student was suspended from the university for two quarters.
Authorized material only
A sophomore chemistry student was referred to SJA for using unauthorized material during an exam in her Mathematics 22A class. The instructor noticed the student staring for long periods of time at the floor next to her seat. While this was odd, the instructor initially dismissed it as the student thinking about the exam. When the instructor eventually got a better look, it became obvious that the student was staring at a set of well-concealed notes wedged between her backpack and the wall. The student admitted to the wrongdoing and was given a sanction of disciplinary probation through graduation and eight hours of community service.
CAMPUS JUDICIAL REPORTS are compiled by student members of Student Judicial Affairs.
