Thursday, 5/8/97 Is cheating the only way to get ahead in
society? Morality often takes a back seat in cases of personal
self-interest
Before I dare delve into another topic, I am compelled to
respond to last Monday’s letter to the editor written by three
Bruin Vision candidates stating that I was misinformed about their
slate. I apologize if I misrepresented their slate. (Misinformation
is indeed terrible propaganda to spread.) Because I despise
misinformation, I must dispel some inaccurate information
perpetrated by the Bruin Vision candidates who obviously missed the
point of my column completely. My column entitled "Government
faceless in the eyes of students" served to motivate students to go
out and vote. This was the one and only objective of my column. The
challenge I offered the student body at UCLA was to educate
themselves and find a party that suits their needs. The mention of
various slates was merely to give constituents a general idea of
what a slate supported and not their official platforms.
(Regurgitating the complete platforms of each of the parties runs
the risk of making my column cumbersome. Therefore, I offered brief
highlights of some of the slates. Besides one would think that
revealing the above mentioned party’s stance on our "dry" campus
would more likely solicit votes rather than alienate any.) The
motives of these candidates were clear. Their only concern was to
have another avenue in which to advertise their slate no matter who
they stepped on. (They surprisingly failed to mention that the
other slates’ platforms suffered a similar fate – a brief
highlight. All that mattered was their own. Who gives a damn about
anyone else?) I am saddened to see that these candidates feel it is
appropriate to turn their "opportunity to educate voters" into a
personal attack … How quickly this USAC election topic stagnates!
Let me present you a topic to tease your gray matter. Several weeks
ago my former alma mater, Sunny Hills, staggered back into the
limelight on the local television news station. 20 or more seniors
in an honors philosophy class called Theory of Knowledge were
caught cheating on an assignment. 13 of these students were
affiliated with the school’s chapter of the National Honors
Society. My brother Stephen, an 18-year-old who is in that class,
brought this story to my attention and explained that many people
in the course work on assignments collectively in order to save
time. (No, he wasn’t one of the 20.) This sounds like a rational
explanation. But there is a greater issue that must be addressed.
Is our society’s sense of ethics deteriorating? In the Los Angeles
Times, the article about the cheating incident at my high school
entitled "Honor Society Ousts Students for Cheating" quoted one of
the students affected by the honor society’s decision. The senior
said, "I really don’t believe the punishment is on par with, say,
copying a test." (Initially, this senior thought the punishment was
fair, but later felt it was too harsh.) I suppose, relatively
speaking, one could argue that copying an assignment is not as bad
as copying a test. But it doesn’t make copying another person’s
work to pass off as your own morally sound. In the world of
academia where people aspire to go to medical school, law school,
and the like, does it matter that something is considered unethical
when it may give you the advantage? Maybe. Temptation to get an
edge manifests itself in many ways. Imagine sitting in the midst of
a huge lecture hall with hundreds of your peers feverishly
scribbling away while you are stumped on question No. 7. Does that
strange urge to glance over ever sneak into your subconscious,
especially if you have to do well in the course? Not only do you
have to worry about your own brain devising strategies for
improving your grades, but the university always reminds you. For
example, when I must suffer through yet another exam which requires
a lovely bluebook, I can’t help but notice that contract on the
front cover which is a statement asking if you have completed the
assignment honestly. Below that contract is an explanation as to
the consequences of being academically dishonest. (Adding that
signature line gives you extra time to ponder your fate if you
didn’t.) I marveled at this ploy by UCLA to lessen the problem. (I
could swear that those little statements didn’t find their way upon
bluebooks until a couple of years ago.) How prevalent is cheating
here at UCLA? How prevalent is cheating in general? Apparently,
students managed to do enough of it to warrant an official
University policy regarding academic dishonesty. Ethics goes far
beyond the academic world. Everyday we are faced with moral
decisions that test the strength of our values and our integrity.
One day several years ago, I took my brother John, who is now 16,
to a fast-food restaurant in hopes of appeasing our appetites. I
gave him money to pay for the food. A few minutes later, he came
back to where I was sitting with more money than I initially gave
him. John asked me what I wanted to do since it was my money. I
asked him what he would do. He thought about it for a second and
then he returned the money. The "counter-guy" thanked John for his
honesty because he could have lost his job. He expressed his
gratitude by purchasing a box of cookies for John. How would you
respond in a similar situation? Are you a person who tries to be as
honest as possible? Or do you just mutter the "finders keepers"
rule to yourself as you slip something into your pocket? I realize
that throughout history unethical acts of unfathomable proportions
have occurred. The severity ranges from genocide to fattening one’s
bank accounts with public funds. So the questions I ask aren’t that
new. Are there legitimate justifications for doing something
unethical? This questions seems to be absolutely ridiculous. But is
it? When you do copy that assignment, one immediately attempts to
rationalize why it is okay on this particular occasion: "So what?
Who needs to know that useless material anyway?" It is very
unlikely that not learning about that one equation or that theory
will ruin your future. But it could … It’s frightening how easy
it is to just look out for your own self-interest, especially in a
world where trust is a luxury. I don’t know whether or not our
sense of ethics is eroding. I do know (or at least think I know)
that every day we must struggle with ethical issues. You ultimately
have the choice to glance over at the next person’s test or take
that wallet lying on the ground. Who cares if our sense of ethics
is breaking down? I am more interested in if will you at least stop
and think about the consequences of your decisions. Will what you
do cost your position in an honor society? Will what you do cost
your status as a student? Will what you do cost someone else their
job? Will doing what you ultimately decide to do cost you your
self-respect? Then after all is done and all debts are paid, ask
yourself if it was worth it.