California State University, Bakersfield
December 4, 2019
Vol. 45, No. 8
Plagiarism creates problems on campus
Jessica Wright Asst News Editor According to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities, there were 90 Academic dishonesty reports, 64 of which were for plagiarism, in the 2019 spring semester. These totals include incidents in the extended university, Antelope Valley, and CSU Bakersfield student count. “There is a due process, and we make sure the student’s rights are protected, consistent, and equitable,” Rubicelia Alvarez, director of the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities said. Alvarez states that she believes the increase is due in part to the increase in faculty knowledge of policy and campus population increase, but not because students are completely unethical. “The burden of proof comes from the reporting entity […] faculty decides what the grade repercussions are, most often resulting in a zero or F grade,” Alvarez said. Plagiarism, Alvarez says, is very broad, and what one professor may mark as plagiarism may not get marked in another class. Each case of academic dishonesty is taken into account on a case by case basis and is not based on previous incidents, because they may have happened under different circumstances. Depending on those circumstances, expulsion is possible, but that is not always the outcome. Alvarez also emphasizes that
the most important thing is that an educational moment is created for the student during the resolution process. Students express themselves about knowing the dishonesty of other students and how that effects their stress and frustration levels. “I know someone who used to get paid to write papers for people, but I never have. It’s annoying because I do all this work, but they get the same benefits. I know academic writing is difficult, so I understand, but it’s frustrating,” Kyra McCormack, senior and sociology major, said. “I’m upset by it [plagiarism] because I have to use up my time to do an assignment but they just get to copy. Just don’t plagia-
rize,” Moises Lara, freshmen and business major, said. Faculty also spoke about the increase of plagiarism they’ve seen in their classrooms. “In a semester on average I send around 10 people for plagiarism, but that is from a total of 352 [students],” Pamela Knight, lecturer in geology, said. “It makes me sad because a lot of students don’t realize that it shows, then it’s a lot of work for me and paperwork to turn them in to student rights […] The biggest thing is they wait until the last minute and get panicked. I don’t believe anyone sets out to plagiarize,” Knight said. Knight spoke about the plagiarism-checker programs, Safe Assign and Turnitin, that she uses in
her courses. Both programs give percentages of related work to other sources. Safe Assign allows professors to see what percentage relates to other sources and in what way. For example, Knight mentioned that she could see whether a paper related to another student’s paper, a given source from coursework, or the internet, by a certain percentage. The program, like Turnitin, also highlights the problematic sections of the assignment. Department Chair of the Management and Marketing Department and associate professor of management John Tarjan suggests streamlining the academic integrity policy and an overhaul of the implementation and record keeping of the consequences
sic professor at CSUB, said. According to Haney, the Bakersfield Youth Symphony event was the only event that was disrupted by the damage. All events since have proceeded on schedule using backup equipment. A meeting was held on Nov. 21 with Mandy Rees, the music department chair, Haney, Paula Bray and Justin Berhow with university facilities, and Daniel Tapia, the ASI director of arts and humanities to discuss the remaining repairs needed. According to Bray, the structural repairs are complete. “Altogether, [the structural repairs totaled] less than $1,200. The major cost will be the repair/ replacement of the theatre equipment,” Bray said. The control room equipment, which includes the main projector and the control board for sound and lighting, will be the most expensive setback for the
theatre. “We expect this to run into multiple thousands of dollars,” Haney said. The music and theatre departments are currently working with the administration to resolve funding issues associated with replacing the equipment, according to Haney. According to Tapia, if funding for repairs comes from departments within the School of Arts and Humanities, it is the students who will suffer. Tapia is advocating for the administration to cover the cost of not only the repairs, but needed renovations to the theatre as well. “The impact the loss of funds will have, will impact our ability to send A&H students to professional development opportunities. Departments may have to find their own way to raise funds for their clubs and organizations if the administration does not assist us in this issue,” Tapia said.
According to Tapia, the Doré Theatre is pivotal to the community as a performance venue and a gathering place for all of Kern County. Overall costs for the repairs and replacement of equipment are still being estimated, and Tapia feels that the theatre is outdated and in need of a “full restoration.” “The [water] lines were getting old and gave in. The [administration] have not seen how the Doré Theatre lacks in space, equipment, and how it is not up to par with other theaters in the CSU [system] in regards to quality,” Tapia said. Tapia is working towards having a meeting with CSUB President Lynnette Zelezny, Vice President of Student Affairs Thomas Wallace, and their staff in order to advocate for the administration to finance a full restoration of the Doré Theatre.
Water damage at Doré Theatre causes financial woes By Sam Underwood Editor-in-Chief
Between Oct. 30 and Nov. 2, a water line in the CSU Bakersfield Doré Theatre sprung a leak above the control booth causing structural damage, as well as damage to the control equipment located in the booth. A source of funding to repair and replace equipment, as well as make renovations, has become a topic of discussion. The incident forced CSUB to reschedule one community event. “Due to the damage to the building and control booth, we had to reschedule a concert by the Bakersfield Youth Symphony, a group with whom we have enjoyed a longstanding relationship. Several divisions of the university responded promptly, and the theatre staff did a heroic job to put backup equipment in place” Joel Haney, associate mu-
within it. “We need to make faculty more aware of policy and to have department chairs be more supportive,” Tarjan said. “It is an issue that I don’t think we are addressing sufficiently […] Three reasons to do this is to educate, uphold values of academic integrity, and fairness,” Tarjan said. According to Tarjan, a consistent and streamlined policy is just the first step to helping the campus with this issue. Implementing educational opportunities for both students and faculty members when they first come to CSUB is key. He said this could be accomplished with a more comprehensive first year seminar, foundational courses, and faculty orientations, as well as other ideas. “Someone’s ideas are something that they own, so stealing those ideas are like stealing their property. By and large, students are honest and want to learn, and I’m not concerned about their being a large amount of plagiarism here [CSUB],” Steven Frye English Department Chair, said.
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OPINION
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