Liiii Ilio;q
somehow gets by, the cheater would get a
better grade than someone slugging it out and
making the effort," said Christofferson.
Christofferson said the numbers of cheaters
he caught this year are not too different than
previous years. In general, he said he catches
about five to 10 percent of his students
plagiarizing every year.
"Professors are fed up with dealing with this
issue so they avoid assigning papers. It's lots
of work to grade papers. So students don't
get many opportunities to write in class," said
Christofferson. "I am already changing the
way I teach and if plagiarism continues it will
be hard to teach writing. Some students are
already saying that they do not get enough
UNITED WAY
since negatively affected donations. Also,
charities not related to the Sept. 11 attacks
are finding it harder to get donations.
The United Way Campaign was headed
by four co-chairs. The campaign members
included Brandi Hovis, the Student
Government Association president; Dr.
Margaret Thorns, associate professor of
management; Paul Newlin, director of
Corporate and Adult Learning; and Rande
Joy, a maintenance mechanic.
The campaign was additionally supported
by Campaign Coordinator Catherine
FROM FRONT PAGE
writing experience. Plagiarism undermines
the entire higher education system."
Christofferson is not the only professor who
has to deal with academic dishonesty. It is a
concern for many educators on campus. Dr.
Rod Troester, associate professor of speech
communication, said, "This is a simple issue.
If students do their own work and credit the
work of others, then it's not a problem.
"If someone cheats they should fail," said
Troester. "Honesty and integrity are
important. Maybe [cheating] is a problem and
maybe it's not. There may be more cheating
going on than people know of. There needs
to be an appropriate punishment."
Penn State University has even gone so far
Hanhauser and by Peggy Shupenko, who
provided office assistance.
Working on the United Way campaign has
especially touched Dr. Thorns. "I work with
generous people who care about the
community," she said. "I feel very good
about that."
During the 2000 United Way campaign,
the Behrend Campus raised $38,328 for
local United Way agencies. Including
Behrend's 2000 contribution, the United
Way allocated $4.5 million to local
assistance programs. These programs help
• Y
Friday, December 7, 2001
as to create a new grading policy for cheaters.
The new XF grade can be given to indicate
that the failing grade was a result of academic
dishonesty. The XF grade, however, is usually
reserved for repeat offenders or other major
violations of academic integrity.
"Cheating is a serious issue," said
Christofferson. "Some students believe they
won't be caught or are willing to take a
calculated risk."
Before any students take the calculated risk
of cheating they may want to consider the
penalties involved.
To see Penn State's statement on academic
integrity go to www.pserie.psit.edit/faciky/
academics/integrity. htm.
thousands of local residents
Most of the money from this year's
campaign will go to the United Way of Erie
County, which helps local non-profit
organizations. Some local organizations
assisted by the funds are the American Red
Cross, Greater Erie County Chapter; the
Boys and Girls Club of Erie, Inc.; the
International Institute of Erie; and the
French Creek Council Boy Scouts of
America. Of the money raised, $1,645 has
been designated to the September 11th
Fund.
.40k
PERRY
RENOVATIONS,
will include the addition of 47,800 square feet
and 150 beds, as well as remodeling the
current rooms
"We will replace the existing roof with a
tiered metal roof," said Geering. Other
improvements to the existing space will
include rewiring, new cosmetics, new ceiling
tiles, new lights, new mechanics, and the
bathrooms will be reworked. The lounge area
will be renovated and will include new
windows, new lighting, and a new ceiling
During construction, the school is hoping
to keep Perry open. The design process will
take approximately one year, and renovations
of the existing spaces will take place during
the summer months of 2003 and 2004, when
no one is living in Perry. The new part of the
building will be constructed during the
academic year.
These renovations will provide more
housing for on-campus students, and will be
a needed addition to the campus.
"Perry will become an exciting transition
to the housing areas of the campus," said
Geering. "We have the opportunity to create
a beautiful addition to Behrend."
Once construction is finished - scheduled
for fall 2004 - Perry will still be an
underclassman residence hall.
The Behrend Beacon
QUESTION OF
THE WEEK
- asked by Kelly Walsh
• • • • • • 00000000000 •
"A gallon of mustard from ms•
Grandma. / like mustard but not as
much a.s . Caser Panwll!"
Matty Keith
Marketing, 117
I:==
"A cassette player
Cedric Pindei
Continuer Engineering. 01
"A subscription to National Gcogri
and a dietionaty
When I was 7. "
Joanne Moe
English Lit, 07
• • • • • • • • • 00000000 •
"A kiss iron Jess Catherinan
a flunre.seent pink rweat.shirt.
Lisa Lindenburger, Erin Wright
Business 05; English Lit 09
••••••••• • • • • • • • • •
"A Stefano outfit white jeans and a
purple sweatshirt from fashion Bug."
Jason Karas
Marketing, 07
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