Teachers utilize new technology to catch AI-written student essays

Nina Bowens ’25 Executive TV Producer

Turnitin, a plagiarism detection site, recently released a new update to detect AI-written essays, and teachers have already utilized it to crack down on the in ux of AI-usage in students’ work.

ousands of kids across America have turned to new AI tools such as ChatGPT to aid them with completing homework assignments or more extensive projects. According to an article published by USA Today, “22% of students use the chatbot to help them with coursework or in extracurricular activities on a weekly basis.” is trend is seen at Staples, as students’ screens icker between assignments and the AI tab, and more teachers are questioning the authenticity of submissions.

“ e new AI kind of freaks me out, and I’ve de nitely seen a lot of kids using it at Staples and in my di erent classes,” Molly Whittle ’25 said. “I’ve used it mostly to summarize articles. I feel like it is kinda a way to have the thinking of assignments done for you, and it is de nitely convenient if you are in a time crunch. But, on the other hand, I am not sure if using ChatGPT is worth it because of Turnitin.com.” e website, alongside other detection services, recently unveiled its AI Innovation Lab on April 4. e new tool detects percentages of pieces written by technology and relays that information to teachers.

“AI writing tools are developing at a rapid pace and so is Turnitin’s technology to detect these emerging forms of misconduct,” Turnitin wrote in a statement. “Our model has been trained speci cally on academic writing sourced from a comprehensive database. As a result, Turnitin is more tuned to nding instances of potential dishonesty in student assignments.”

More and more teachers at Staples, including Mary Katherine Hocking, have caught their students with Turnitin. However, prior to that additional screening, teachers had already noticed signs of AI writing in their students’ work.

“I have [been suspicious] sometimes if a student’s submission reads drastically differently than the pieces they’ve turned in previously,” Hocking said. “Students tend to have a particular voice or manner of writing, and the AI’s robotic or formulaic voice some times comes across di erently.” e temptation of using AI and quickly relieving oneself of a long assignment lures many students into a habit that can damage their free thought and learning development.

Some assignments are meant to be struggled through, and AI takes away a valuable lesson.

“As a former high school procrastinator, I can de nitely see the temptation to use AI to turn out a piece of writing right away,” Hocking said. “However, I think more is lost. We’re handing over our critical reasoning and communication skills to a technology that we don’t know we can fully trust. I think turning over the power of creation and academic thought to a machine is a step in the wrong direction.”

As educators, the shared initial reaction with ChatGPT’s debut was one of fear in regards to student’s misuse and for the future of what it means to be an educator.

“An article came out that said it was the end of the English department,” English teacher Kim Herzog said. “A lot of teachers were scared that if students start relying on this program, they are not going to think for themselves and actually learn really critical skills that apply beyond the English classroom.”

Lily Hultgren ’25 Features Editor

“What is your ethnicity?” a new friend asks me.

My reply: “I’m half white and half Asian.”

Right after I utter that sentence my throat goes dry, as if there is a weight pressing down on my tongue. Nothing I said was incorrect, and yet, it feels like I just told a lie.

Being born and raised in the U.S., I have often felt more connected to the white half of my racial identity than to my ai heritage. I know very little ai language and am not well versed in ai culture. Because of this, I have struggled throughout my life with my biracial identity, never feeling connected to both cultures equally. However, having conversations about my race has allowed me to come to terms with it while cultivating genuine interest in aspects of ai culture. ere have been times I felt embarrassed of my ai side, worrying it made me stand out. I used to feel self-conscious about friends coming over, thinking it was weird that my grandparents spoke a different language and that my family referred to certain foods by their ai names.

At the same time, when I am with my ai relatives, I feel like an imposter. I sit and nod awkwardly whenever they try to speak ai to me, feeling embarrassed that

I have no clue what they’re saying. If I can’t speak the language, do I even have a right to say I am ai American? is “racial imposter syndrome” is anything but a unique experience. Many multiracial people struggle with imposter syndrome related to their ethnic identity. My struggle to embrace my full identity is not new, and, in some respects, my mother had a similar experience; she was born in the United States, but her parents were immigrants from ailand.

She would be embarrassed by signs of “ ai-ness” in her home. At the same time, she didn’t nd full acceptance in ailand either. She never learned the ai language u- ently so, when she visited ailand, no one there assumed she was ai; they called her “farang” which means foreigner.

I recently spoke to my mother about these struggles. She helped me recognize that even though I feel like a stranger to ai culture and only speak a few ai words, it is still present in my everyday life. Whenever I take my shoes o when I enter the house or make sure to never put my feet by someone’s head, I am observing ai practices.

Nothing changes the fact that I am half ai. ere’s no single way to be “ ai” or “Asian.” It is di erent for everyone. And while I still occasionally feel like an imposter, I can take a step back and work on embracing all parts of my heritage.

It may take a while for me to fully accept my biracial identity, but thanks to conversations with my mother and internal revelations, I can con dently say I am on the right track.

“Remember, it’s a ‘Connections’ day,” your second-period teacher announces, mockingly using air quotes, her message met with groans and disgusted faces from almost all students—except me. Despite common criticism, this biweekly “connecting time≈is far more in uential on students’ daily lives than one may think. Implemented in 2019, Connections formed a way for students to have an adult gure as a resource. While navigating busy lives and crowded schedules, the bene ts of having another friendly face at Staples are endless. From mold to

Covid-19, my middle school years faced a variety of obstacles. Hardly experiencing a traditional homeroom while there, I found one under a new name at Staples: Connections. For overwhelmed freshmen facing the pressures of high school, it’s a relief tonally be given the time to take a break. While tasks assigned for this time receive frequent complaints, students aggravated by playing Kahoot or discussing weekend plans should re ect on the priorities and disposition of individuals instead of the activities’ quality.

Not everyone will be your best friend in Connections. Yet, if you’re lucky, you’ll have dedicated teachers and generous students who allocate time to provide an assortment of desserts enjoyed by all. Every Tuesday and ursday, I look forward to sugary treats, whether cookies, mu ns or brownies. It’s a valued aspect of my Connections culture, which all classes should try to emulate. Although everyone cracks jokes at its expense, Connections is here to stay. So, if you don’t enjoy your “connecting” time, at the very least just consider that a Connections day means only 45-minute classes. at is something we can all bond over. rela-

Sincemy rst day of high school, I have been told that Connections was the ultimate time to bond with my classmates and gain a teacher mentor. eoretically, Connections is the perfect solution to the competitive nature of Staples—it should be a period for students to unplug and study without serious academic pressure. e administration, however, fell short and consequently failed to provide a productive mental- and physical-healthoriented period. Due to the structure of often meaningless and mandatory activities, Connections fails to achieve its alleged purpose: a time to destress.

Activities proposed for Connections often fail to elicit enthusiasm from the student body. I recently walked into Connections in the middle of AP nals week, hoping for a break, when I was told we would spend the period reecting on a series of videos. is activity only added to the stress that many students already felt. We have also been asked to analyze unhealthy relationships. ough import- ant to learn about, it felt like a repeat of junior health.

Building relationships with my Connections class has been awkward to say the least. ough initially conceived to provide a time for support and advice, the inconsistency of interaction through the period has seldom allowed me to build substantial connections—ironic, I know.

Instead of Connections, the school could opt for a 30 minute study hall, which would be bene cial in allowing students to recharge. With such an intensive, pressure-riddled high school environment, what students simply need is a time to destress.

Somewhere on the rst oor, deep in the corner of the school, something revolutionary is blossoming. First, only a nger. en two. e ngers lift from the cold metal they were born on. It’s moving. It’s alive!!

Well, not exactly. ese prosthetic hands are not alive, but they have the power to change someone’s life.

Presidents of the e-NABLE club – Hugo Jacques ’25 and Sebastian Rodriguez ’25 – and constructor Preston Siroka ’25 3-D print prosthetic hands with the goal of becoming an o cial chapter of e-NABLE, a national organization that donates 3-D printed prosthetics to people in need.

“We work really hard throughout the whole process,” Siroka said, “but it’s [for] a really good cause: people who are low income and can’t really a ord or have public access to healthcare.”

In order to become an ofcial chapter of e-NABLE, the club must print hands and send them to review-