The university has seen a dramatic rise in incidents of academic dishonesty from the 2009-2010 school year to 2010-2011.
Whether it's cheating on tests, plagiarism or something else, this is disheartening news.
Dishonesty in any form reflects poorly on this university and tarnishes the reputation of its students, thereby devaluing our education, even if only slightly.
Still, in regards to cases of plagiarism, we ask the university to take caution.
We agree with university officials that consistency in enforcement of plagiarism cases among professors is paramount. Students should be able to expect a fair shake no matter what class or professor they choose.
But we're not quite sure what, if any, policy the university even follows. Is enforcement done on a case-by-case basis, or does DePauw subscribe to a zero-tolerance approach?
Either way, we know quite a few students who don't have much of a clue about what plagiarism entails. And what might seem obvious to professors might not be so obvious to us.
Sure, copy-pasting is a clear no-no. Not citing and using someone else's idea as your own fall into that camp as well. These are obvious infractions of an expected academic dishonesty policy. But is that it?
We research differently than our professors did, even differently than students did 10 years ago. Knowledge comes with the click of a button and the need for a healthy dose of skepticism. Gone are the days of hours spent in dusty library stacks.
In a digital world we often forget what we pulled from the internet and what we conceived ourselves. We sometimes forget to cite facts and figures found through Google or on Wikipedia. These forums are public, and we often interpret them to be common knowledge.
Online resources provide an invaluable means to disseminating an infinite volume of information. And we understand their many inherent faults.
But we still make mistakes. We ask that professors realize this, as many likely do already, and not become more skeptical. Don't assume.
Many DePauw students adhere to a strong sense of integrity. More often than not, plagiarism comes from gaffs fueled by sleep deprivation or simple forgetfulness.
Admittedly, the university makes efforts to educate its students on the ins and outs of plagiarism. But throwing a handbook of rules at a college student doesn't stick very often.
As journalists, we pride ourselves on a strict adherence to the truth. Credit should always be given where it's due, and no one should smudge the truth for any reason.
Still, even we accept room for unintentional error. All that matters is that we acknowledge and learn from our mistakes.