Turn on the news any night, and there’s another story of
some cheater ““ a law-breaker ““ finally getting caught.
Enron, Martha Stewart, Jayson Blair. These are names we’ll
remember. But it makes you wonder just how many people don’t
get caught.
I hate cheaters. And I’m an equal-opportunity hater. I
hate the guy who crosses the double-double-yellow line of the
carpool lane just as much as I hate the corporate executive who
stole grandma’s pension. It may not seem fair, you may think
the guy on the freeway doesn’t deserve my hatred. But I hate
him because he makes cheating possible, even probable, for the
executive and everyone else.
The single most common reason given by cheaters who are
otherwise honest people is this: “Everybody else is doing
it.”
Sure, some people cheat for money, grades, social position, on
their spouses and significant others ““ but the rest cheat
because they think they need to level the playing field. How can an
honest person hope to succeed against a cheater?
A lot of you reading this column cheated to get where you are
today. How do I know? In a recent study, a third of all college
students admitted to having cheated at some point.
Some of your parents may have even helped you cheat. One of the
hottest new scams to cheat on the SAT is to be falsely declared
disabled.
In 1999, Educational Testing Services, the company that
administers the SAT, stopped flagging the tests of students who had
been given extra time to complete the test because of learning
disabilities. Psychologists have now identified an increase in
parents “shopping around” for a diagnosis ““
trying to get that extra edge and extra time for their children as
they no longer have to worry about the stigma. Not only does this
degrade the already-questionable validity of the SAT; it’s
also a disgusting affront to students who truly do require the
extra time.
There are also less overtly heinous ways to cheat. We’ve
all been tempted to look over on another student’s test or
lift a line or two from a source instead of worrying about proper
citation. It may not seem as bad, but it is.
Every time you cheat, you make it harder for an honest student
to succeed. Every time you cheat, you devalue your education and
yourself. Every time you cheat, even if you don’t think
anyone is getting hurt, you are hurting everyone else.
The reason I have such a problem with cheating is it is
absolutely one of the most insidious moral problems in America. And
it is one of the few problems that we have the individual,
immediate ability to change.
All you have to do is stop cheating.
Problem solved.
But there are plenty of reasons to cheat.
In the late 1960s, believe it or not, the most important goal of
college freshmen was “developing a meaningful philosophy of
life,” cited by over 80 percent of entering students. That
number is now much lower. How high on your list is this goal? Or do
you think earning a degree in order to obtain a higher-paying job
is more important?
College certainly is more important these days ““ according
to the U.S. Census Bureau, people with advanced degrees can expect
to earn approximately 2.6 times the amount of people with only a
high school diploma throughout their lifetimes. In 1975, the gap
was 1.8 times.
And the competition is fierce. The difference between Wharton or
Harvard Business School and Podunk University can be a couple of
tenths of a grade point. And the difference in the opportunities
coming out of Wharton or Harvard versus Podunk are immeasurable
““ the best firms with the highest-paying jobs cull their
entry-level employees almost exclusively from top-tier schools.
So the temptation to cheat is strong, and it begins early in
life. Don’t forget the totally bizarre lesson many have
learned in childhood: “Nobody likes a tattletale.”
I have no idea why our parents and teachers decided this was a
good lesson. Perhaps they were afraid someone would tell on
them.
And in the real world, the penalties for cheating are often
easily dismissed. Due to maximum penalties, the worst offenders can
expect a few years in “Club Fed.”
On the other hand, men like Jayson Blair command six-figure
advances to tell their stories. Many cheaters won’t even get
punished because companies don’t want to risk the bad
publicity.
It’s the same in schools. Many teachers won’t pursue
punishment for students because they don’t want to risk
lawsuits or fear a very real lack of administrative support. (Here
at UCLA, there is a tough cheating policy. Cheaters face suspension
or expulsion.)
But I don’t think the fear of getting caught is what stops
most people from cheating. I think it boils down to character.
People who honor integrity don’t cheat. People who value
success more than honesty cheat. And don’t fool yourself into
thinking it’s any more complicated than that.
It’s not.
So take your pick. But if you have any kind of moral compass, I
hope you’ll join me. I’m pretty sure that all cheaters
are going to hell, if they aren’t already there.
Sutton was a 2003-2004 assistant Viewpoint editor.