Page 50 - ThePhoenix1992-93

:£flile1Jals,xu 'I've Neither Given Nor Received Aid On This Assignment.' best, because it requires continual inter- By S.A. SUMMERS SU1jfW,il<' pretation of terms and infractions. What does this statement mean? I spoke with several professors and What is cheating? What is an Honor administrators, each of whom gave his or Code and when does it stop being effec- her personal definition of cheating or tive? academic dishonesty. One evening in Glar, I heard some "It isn't really as important to know people talking about cheating as if it what cheating is, but to know why people were of as little consequence as choosing Cheat," remarked Assistant Dean of Aca- which soap to use. demic Affairs Barbara Disharoon. How can people take the Honor Code When posed this question, Dr. Ray so lightly? How can they allow others to Stevens replied. "Indolence. sheer indo- destroy its sanctity? lence." In talking with my friends, my pro- Although Associate Dean of Student fessors, and others I passed on campus, Affairs Frank Lamas agreed, he indi- came from. bility for academic honesty. Maybe a me eyes were opened to how serious a cated that the "pressure to get into gradu- The Honor Code became a formal student will even stand up before an problem cheating is on this campus. ate school, or medical school, or for the policy when the "student body devel- exam and remind the class that the Honor Nearly everyone I spoke with knew of a 4.0 and from parents" is the major cause oped a procedure for accepting responsi- Code governs that exam. person who had cheated or had cheated for academic dishonesty. bility for academic honesty," according Honor Possibly, students will question the Code and determine if it includes himself. A1tbough some students and faculty to the Student Affairs' pamphlet con- The school as an institution defines may feel that the Honor Code is a waste cerning the Honor System. all that needs to be said about academic cheating in terms of various infractions. of ink and paper at the end of an exam, it This fact seems to have gotten lost honesty. Is it time for the students This definition seems to be elusive at is important to remember where the code somewhere between its birth in the six- the responsibility for academic to take back Code was not honesty? ties and now. The Honor Freedom of Expression imposed upon the student body by an ad- Or it is time to scrap the Honor Code and institute proce- a policy of disciplinary to dominate trying or con- ministration Being Torn Up trol everything. It was instituted by stu- dures where and Conduct Board and where have no say on the students the Honor dents for the protection of students. Perhaps knowledge of this history the administration does dominate and By JENNIFER DISNEY the act. In fact, one person was asked to will encourage students to take responsi- control? [J C",",ib.'i/l8W,i/<, fill out a statement simply because her For anyone who thought name appeared as a contact person on a McCarthyism was dead, he/she may poster asking students to go toNew York rreedomos expresston on the Western in fact bclu.w:. on its walls? warn to know it is alive and well here at to support the efforts of indigenous ftlarYfiind College campus. How was Ito In both of these cases, the Administra- WMC. For anyone who thought helshe people to get a seat in lbe United Nations. ~ know that the next week, when [decided tion responded by saying it had made a had the right to freedom of expression, Immediately, I was outr3&ed._........ to put up a poster (with tape, of course) ~ lnmyopinion, it was not a mis- freedom of speech, and to be innocent First of all, the way.this investigation expressing my personal beliefs that I was take that tbe particular contents of the until proven guilty, he/she may not be was handled is a blatant violation of civil not going to be handcuffed and taken Columbus posters sparked such an im- aware of the events of the past few rights. Intimidation of others by those in away for violating some federal law? mediate investigation. weeks. a position of power and authority has no Friday night of this same week, a It was not a mistake that the three stu- Three WMC students were mistak- place in a society, much less on this 001- group of students spent two hours cover- dents questioned are outspoken about enly accused both of vandalism and of lege campus. In addition, the charges ing the entire campus with quotes, po- these and other related issues on campus. violating a federal law which prohibits which initiated the investigation are ems, political statements from both origi- It was not a mistake that lbe campus was hate crimes against a particular race, re- completely ridiculous. nat and reputable sources. and critiques plastered with statements on Homecom- ligion, ethnic group, or individual based They are based on an incorrect inter- of this institution and its perpetuation of ing Weekend, and it was not a mistake on any of these characteristics. Campus pretation of the law, a law which has not the racist, sexist, beterosextst, and that they were taken down ~ the Safety initiated the investigation because yet been sent to me, although I requested classist system in which we live. alumni could see them on Saturday of posters which accused Christopher a copy several weeks ago. For fear otnarassmenr, these students morning. Columbus of genocide, racism, instigat- Most of us, however, not all of us, avoided Campus Safety at all costs. You should also know that the protest ing the destruction of a culture, and rape know that the laws of libel and slander do Upon returning home at about 5 am, they you saw during the Homecoming game of the indigenous people that had been not apply to dead people. Moreover, looked out their window to see all of was not a mistake. It was born out of two glued around campus. none of the students involved in the in- their beautiful work destroyed. A Cam- weeks of violations of freedom, and Campus Safety classified this an RRE vestigation had anything to do with the pus Safety officer had gone around cam- years of blindness and apathy. crime. Based upon such evidence as one situation. pustearingdown~thathesaw~ Two apologies were given for two statement of "I saw [him] do it," and "I The evidence, as well as the charge, over 400 copies of free expression! mistakes by Campus Safety and the Ad- bet [he) and [his organization] are behind had no substance whatsoever. What law had been violated in this ministration. For me, this is not enough. it." Why was I outraged when I was not case? Isn't a college supposed to repre- What is happening here is systematic. These individuals were forced to fill directly involved? I zas directly in- sent a place of free exchange of ideas, a Will we continue to allow ourselves 10 be out a written statement of innocence to volved, because this incident raises much place where these types of statements not placated, or will we finally question the prove that they were not responsible for larger questions concerning the status of only should be ~ to be put up, but ~? [J The Phoenix Editor-ln-Chlef ..••••..•..•.•.•••••••.•••••••.•••_•..•..•.•....•..•...1ennifer Scott '93 The Phoenix is published bi-monthly. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of The Managing Editor •....•.._•.•...•._ TBD Phoenix staff members, the faculty, or the administration at Western Maryland College Business Manager •....•...•...........•._ _ Michael Beckens '95 The Phoenix welcomes free-lance submissions on Macintosh disk in most word processor formats. The Advertising Manager •.....•.•........•.•_...•.•....•._•....••.•.Jodi Malinow '95 editor reserves the right to edit forclarity,length and libel, and will be published as space permits. Letters to the Editor that are one page. typed, and double-spaced are guaranteed publication in the next issue. The Arts & Entertainment Editor •.....•_ _..•.... TBD editor reserves the right to edit for libel and length. Commentary Editor Rebecca Kane '94 All submissions (excluding self-addressed diskettes) become the property of The Phoenix and cannot be Features Editor c.Peter White '93 returned. News Editor TBD Please include a name and phone number for verification. Names will be withheld only by discretion of Sports Editors .•.••...•....•...•...•.•.David Miller '93, Kendra Weible '93 the Editor-in-Chief. Photography Editor ~••••••~ _ Jeff Sharp '94 Address mail to: The Phoenix Cartoonist _•.•.......•....... Mike Jenkins '92 2 Colle.ge Hill Western Maryland College Faculty Advisor _.....•_.•.....__ _•.....•...•.• Terry Dalton westminster, MD 21157