GREEN
CAMPUS MEMBERS Students and faculty take measures to protect the environment.
FEATURES } Page 6
The Connection The student voice of Cosumnes River College since 1970
Volume 59, Issue 5
www.crcconnection.com
November 18, 2010
Student tells of problems with spelling Jennifer Parsons Special to The Connection
CHEATING IN COLLEGE As cheating becomes more prevalent in college, educators seek to address issues Alex Mosqueda Connection Staff With the recent cheating scandal at the University of Central Florida, attention has shifted toward cheating in college. Rick Schubert, professor of philosophy and chair of the Cosumnes River College Academic Integrity Committee, has made it his personal mission to stamp out cheating at CRC. Schubert has done research on the subject of cheating and said while students cheat for a number of reasons, there is one that outweighs others. “The primary reason appears to be that they don’t see the value in doing the work that’s being asked of them,” Schubert said. Over the last four years, surveys were conducted among a group of 14,000 undergraduate students. Fifty-five percent had admitted to cheating, according to the New York Times.
However college faculty have taken precautions over the years to combat cheating via the Internet. Many websites have been created to detect plagiarism and other types of falsified work. One of the best-known services is Turnitin.com, where teachers have their students submit their work and the website searches for any type of copying. No matter how many different tools and tactics teachers come up with to fight against cheating, some students still insist on cheating to get ahead. Unlike faculty, students have a more moderate outlook on the act of cheating. Stephen Morris and Ian Curtis, both 21-year old CRC students, have witnessed and participated in different types of cheating. By request, their names have been changed to avoid any conflict with professors. When asked about different cheating tactics, both Morris and Curtis listed
Carlo Dela Cruz | The Connection
>> Did you know? • According to research published by the American Psychological Association, students who cheat in college are highly likely to fit the profile for “subclinical psychopathy” - a personality disorder defined by erractic lifestyle, manipulation, callousness and antisocial tendences. • Problematic students cheat because they feel entitled and disregard morality, the study found. • Almost 80 percet of college students admit to cheating at least once. • 36 percent of under graduates have admitted to plagiarizing written material. • 30 percent of a large sampling of Berkeley students were recently caught plagiarizing directly from the internet. Information compiled from sciencedaily.com and turnitin.com
See CHEATING, page 12
See SPELLING, page 12
As transfers loom, faculty gives advice Alex Mosqueda Connection Staff
Campus hosts 5th annual Fall Ethics Symposium
NEWS } Page 11
} On the Web • Students die in triple homicide. • CRC addition Andi Atkins Pogue • Thanksgiving history questioned crcconnection.com
As a child, Ashley Birch said she was a bad speller. She asked friends, classmates and even her younger brother how to spell. Today, 21-year-old Ashley Birch, an undeclared major, said she is still not a great speller. And she isn’t alone. In a 2009 study conducted by the Spelling Society, an organization dedicated to “raising awareness of the problems caused by the irregularity of English spelling,” one in four Americans said they were bad spellers. The study found 62 percent of Americans cannot spell “embarrassed,” 61 percent “liaison” and 52 percent “millennium,” according to the study. These findings did not surprise professors at Cosumnes River College. “Americans’ inability to spell is not a surprise because too many educators and administrators in the educational environment misunderstand the use of technology,” said Billie Miller, a business professor. Professors and students blamed technology for the decline in spelling. “There’s something about the increased efficiency of technology that fools you into thinking the actual technological copy is error-free,” said Jason
Demitri Fellines | The Connection
Cody Blackbird performs his album “Raven Speaks,” on Nov. 16 in the Fountain Quad. The performance is a part of Cosumnes River College’s first ever “Native American Gathering,” which celebrated the indigenous culture, on Nov. 15 -17.
With the spring semester just around the corner, many Cosumnes River College students will be transferring to new colleges to continue their education. Countless colleges around the country are selected by CRC students as their ideal school, but it does raise the question of what school should a student transfer to. “I chose UC San Diego mainly because of its location,” said 20-year old performing arts major Natalie Garza. “People typically pick schools that are close to home but I really wanted to go to a good school that’s far away and try to make it on my own.” CRC counselor Lynn Fowler agrees with Garza that students do tend to base school selection on proximity, though Fowler doesn’t believe that this is the wisest of choices. “Many students choose a transfer university by default, that is, they only apply to the four year institutions near their homes,” Fowler said. “An ideal college is one that meets the person’s individual needs. Selecting a transfer destination is very important.”
See TRANSFER, page 12