Honor code cloaked by ignorance

Reading period begins May 15 and ends with the beginning of exams on May 19. With finals week approaching, honor code committee members will have their hands full with upcoming cases.

"A couple of weeks after midterms and finals we get a rise in cases," said junior Diana D'Agostino, an honor code committee member. According to Julie Chor, cases are approximately an even mixture of plagiarism and exam cheating. "There is some malicious cheating but there is also unintentional plagiarism," said Chor.

Director of Expository Writing Jan Cooper was disturbed after being approached by several students who relayed their knowledge of prior violations. "I was appalled by stories of cheating. I think students should play a primary role in conveying the importance of the honor code to other students," she said.

Some believe the honor code is a matter of right or wrong, to cheat or not to cheat; however, as Cooper also pointed out, areas of violation become grayer as time passes by. Open-book/open-note exams, take-home exams and group projects are becoming more frequent, while explanations behind the honor code are not. "I think it may be more confusing now than it used to be," said Cooper.

"Take-homes are a source of problems. It would be nice to think that we're all responsible but [this is not always the case]," said senior Julie Chor, co-chair of the honor code committee.

This lack of clarity is seen with paper documentation as well. Many students enter the college academic atmosphere with little experience. I've seen people cheating on take home exams," said first-year Natalie Wills.

"I think the Honor Code is a great thing. It gives us more freedom to take tests outside of class and taking a test unproctored makes you feel like a real person instead of a lowly student. I'm not sure if we as students have the discipline or the honor to really abide by the honor code anymore. I hope we do, because it takes away from the institutional feeling of school," said senior Sarah Clemmens.

Student skepticism isn't news to most committee members. "I think there are students that appreciate it but there are also students that mock and ridicule it. It's really frustrating because it perpetuates people not taking it seriously," said Chor.

But as Cooper and Gates stressed, the duty of upholding the honor code does not fall upon student shoulders alone. "It's the professor's duty to clarify in each class about collaboration. They need to be clear about sources and the time frame with which students are to complete the exams," said Gates. "This is especially important with take homes. The expectations are different with each class. If professors don't make things clear then students are left to guess."

"I think it's cool that Oberlin has a standard of accountability. We're trying to make people more aware now," said D'Agostino on the efforts of the committee.

Part of this effort includes ensuring the inclusion of an honor code explanation in all course syllabi. "We're trying to combat this from many different areas. We want professors to put the honor code on their syllabi because this is in our charter," said Sara Selig, co-chair committee member. There are currently four spring semester syllabi with references to the honor code.

"We had lunch with Dye to ask her for suggestions," said Chor. Among other efforts the committee plans to work with admissions, faculty, staff to inform prospective as well as current students about the honor code. The committee is also beginning to address the matter of internet plagiarism and computer science. "This wasn't considered when the honor code was written, and a committee is being formed this summer to update the honor code to include these aspects," said Selig.

"It's felt like there has been a lack of institutional support. We need to make it clear to students when it is appropriate to engage with other students on material and when it is not," said Cooper.

Last summer, Chor was able to experience taking an exam at an institution that had no honor code. "The exams were completely proctored and when I left the room to go the bathroom someone had to escort me. I think people [at Oberlin] appreciate that the professor leaves the room during an exam," she said.

This Sunday the committee plans to conduct interviews for fall committee membership from 5 to 7 p.m. in Wilder. "We can't support the charter on our own. We need everyone's help," said Selig.