CctmY‘lienear
The Capital Players Present
Godspell
A musical by Stephen Schwartz
Conceived and originally di-
rected by John-Michael Tebelak,
music and new lyrics by Stephen
Schwartz, originally produced
on the New York stage by Edgar
Lansbury/Stuart Duncan/Joseph
Beruh. Based on the Gospel Ac
cording to St. Matthew. Olmsted
Auditorium, April 24-26 at 8
p.m. and April 27 at 2 p.m. Cost
is $5 with student ID and $8 gen
eral admission. Tickets available
in Stack's Lounge or Humanities
suite.
The Luau will be on Tuesday,
April 22nd in the Vartan Plaza.
There will be food, wax hands,
Thin g s
You Know
Are you graduating in May and
have questions about commence
ment? If you do, attend one of
two upcoming Commencement
Information Sessions. If you
choose not to attend one of these
sessions, you will receive com
plete information at the Giant
Center on the day of commence
ment. Sessions will be: Monday,
April 21, 2008 at Noon in the
Gallery Lounge; Tuesday, April
22, 2008 at 5:30 p.m. in the Gal
lery Lounge.
On April 22nd Justin Miller, a
Digital Commons Consultant,
will be at the Penn State Har
risburg campus to provide two
workshop trainings to faculty,
staff, and students. If you are
interested in either training
Turnitin
By MARTIN KLINGMEYER
Staff Reporter
MWK 1 40@PSU.EDU
(Part Two of a Three-Part Series)
Professors and administrators need
to consider the potential liability the
use of Turnitin creates. Although
Turnitin has documents written by
legal experts stating that the system is
legally compliant and perfectly safe
to use, the fact remains that Turnitin
is currently being sued for copyright
infringement in federal court.
Therefore, what Turnitin's experts
believe, and what is happening is at
odds.
What does this mean for schools
and professors? Derek Bambauer,
Assistant Professor of Law at
Wayne State University Law
School warns, "If Turnitin is in fact
infringing, aren't the schools liable
for contributory infringement?"
If Turnitin does not prevail in its
lawsuit, it would not be surprising
to find Penn State and its professors
as defendants in a contributory
infringement suit.
Turnitin also shifts the burden of
FERPA compliance to professors. It
does this two ways. First, Turnitin
expects that the student's work be
submitted to the system before the
paper is graded. This is because
ungraded papers are not subject to
FERPA, as they are not considered
educational records. However, what
would happen if after reading an essay
the professor became suspicious and
submits the paper to Turnitin? Is that
a violation of FERPA?
The second way Turnitin shifts
liability to professors is that the
system does not remove personally
identifying information. It is easy
enough to remove personally
identifying information at the top of
a student paper. But what if it is a
reflective essay or a journal project?
Then there is personally identifying
information sprinkled through it. If
limbo and tee-shirts (for students
only). Come out and enjoy the
reggae sounds of Anthem, as
seen on MTV and BET, at Noon
in Ziegler Commons!
The Finance Club will be spon
soring their annual trip to NYC
on Friday May 2nd. On the itin
erary is a seminar at the NYSE
and a guided tour of the finance
museum. Time will be available
to tour the city. Transportation
will be provided via charter bus
that will be departing campus at
s:3oam and will be leaving NYC
at 8:00pm. Cost is $2O. Pplease
contact Alex Kravets (asksos7@
psu.edu).
The Penn State Harrisburg Com
mission for Women will host
please email Mike Lackey at
mwllo@psu.edu. Space for
these trainings is limited and will
be awarded on a first email first
serve basis. Justin will also be
available in the Digital Com
mons (W 344 Olmsted) both
before and after these sessions to
meet with anyone desiring a one
on one consultation
Applications are available to
pick-up in the Student Assistance
Center (Wll7 Olmsted) for the
Alpha Sigma Lambda national
Adult Education Foundation
Scholarships, for 2008-2009.
Five $l2OO scholarships and one
$l5OO scholarship are available
to be awarded nationwide. To be
eligible, applicants must be 24 or
older, have completed 30 hours
: is it worth it?
the teacher submits the paper, then
it is up to the teacher to remove
all of the personally identifying
information. If they do not, it could be
a FERPA violation. This also creates
a potentially paradoxical situation: if
the professor cannot be sure that all
personally identifying information
has been removed without reading
the paper in its entirety, has the paper
now become an educational record,
and thus unable to be submitted to
Turnitin?
There are no real answers to these
questions. The answers will come
after a lawsuit. By shifting FERPA
compliance to professors, it also
shifts liability to professors. The
question professors need to answer is
whether or not they are willing to be
the legal guinea pig.
Even if copyright and FERPA
were not issues, professors
should be aware of how Turnitin
disenfranchises students from their
work product. After the originality
report is generated, professors
have the option to view the original
work. When the instructor clicks on
the button, a request is sent to the
original instructor, who, by replying
to the e-mail will forward a copy of
the original paper to the requesting
professor. As Mike Smit notes: "At
no time was the student involved
in this decision, or even informed
of what was happening. Control of
the student's copyrighted material
was left up to Turnltln.com and the
professors."
Setting aside legal and moral issues,
another area of concern for professors
is effectiveness. Any good researcher
knows that "the absence of evidence is
not the evidence of absence." Simply
because a paper is given a clean bill of
health by Turnitin does not mean that
it was not plagiarized. The student's
girlfriend could have written the
paper yesterday. It could have been
pulled from a fraternity's paper file,
but not previously submitted to the
the University Commission for
Women's All Campus Liaison
Luncheon on Tuesday, April 29
in the Morrison Gallery of the
Library at Noon. Guest speaker
for the event will be Major Gen
eral Jessica L. Wright, Adjutant
General for the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania who will speak
on "Women in the Military." If
you are interested in attending
the luncheon, please RSVP to
Dawn Hamaty at 717-948-6142
or dlh2l@psu.edu by April 15.
The C. S. Lewis Seminar meets
each Tuesday at noontime. All
are invited to join the discussion
of The Screwtape Letters by C.
S. Lewis, Contact w 44 or pbil
for details.
at Penn State Harrisburg in a
bachelor's degree program, have
a minimum GPA of 3.2 , and
have financial need.
News from the PSH Library...
End of Semester Library Hours
Sunday, April 20 - Thursday,
May 8, 2008
Monday - Thursday 7:45 a.m.
- Midnight
Friday 7:45 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday 1:00 p.m. - Midnight
Group Study Rooms:
There are 14 group study rooms
available for student use. If you
would like to reserve a room for
group use, sign'up at the circula
tion desk. If a room is empty,
database. A stamp of approval from
Turnitin means very little.
The second thing that could happen
is that the paper is flagged for having
unoriginal text. What does this mean
exactly? Again, very little. First of
all, there are certain phrases that are
simply not novel or original. With
over 40 million papers and 100,000
new documents added daily,the odds
of penning a phrase that someone
else has already written dramatically
Increases
It is estimated that "Turnitin flags
only about seven per cent of submitted
papers for having strong similarities
to texts already in the database."
Diane Schulman, secretary of
Academic Council at Ryerson
University, notes, "only a small
fraction of these are actually
plagiarized the rest are just poorly
cited.
As Mike Smit points out, "Obviously,
you can plagiarize without copying
ANY text, and you can easily have
20-30% 'unoriginal' text without
plagiarizing at all, assuming proper
citation."
Speaking of Plagiarism detection
services such as Turnitin, Robin
Satterwhite, Social Sciences
Librarian at Tutt Library and Marla
Gerein, Social Sciences Academic
Technology Specialist at Colorado
College note, "Not only are they
ineffective, but some of the products/
services promote a real lack of trust
and resentment between professor
and student that, especially given
their lack of success, makes such a
purchase undesirable."
Don McCabe, Don McCabe,
Founding President, Center for
Academic Integrity, has described the
service as a "quick-fix to the problem
of plagiarism" and "cautioned that
it can break down the relationship
of trust between students and their
professors." The erosion of this
relationship could be the biggest cost
of all.
Rosenberg: Beyond the classroom
Continued from PAGE 1
Rosenberg.
"I like the creative process of art
and I like applying
it to different people
and cultures. It is
always open to
interpretation, it's
changing and a means
of expression,"
Rosenberg said. Art
history 111, ancient
to medieval art;
112, renaissance
to modern art;
120, Asian art and
architecture; and 201
ancient to medieval
architecture, are
all Penn State
courses taught by
Rosenberg. She
feels that expanding
peoples' awareness
and changing
preconceived
notions for other
times and cultures is
an important part of
her courses.
Rosenberg said her
fav oritepartofteaching is the students.
"I totally enjoy talking to students,
Professor gives Senate testimony
Continued from PAGE 1
disabilities though many years in the
field. He cites the increase of Autism
diagnoses in children to an expansion
in the definition.
Foxx gave the example of stating
that everyone over the height of 5
foot 10 has autism, and then changing
that to include everyone over 5 foot
7. He admits that there could be other
explanations, but most professions
agree that it is due to the definition
expansion.
Foxx has been at the forefront of
fighting for using the ABA program
for people with developmental
Other Pa contests compete with Dems' presidential primary
By PETER JACKSON
Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) _ Behind
the dazzling marquee of the state's
Democratic presidential primary,
Pennsylvania voters will decide
nominations for dozens of other
elective offices _ from state treasurer
to the Legislature to Congress _ in
Tuesday's balloting.
The drawn-out battle between Sens.
Hillary Rodham Clinton of New
York and Barack Obama of Illinois
spurred a voter-registration surge that
pushed Democratic Party enrollment
to a record 4.2 million, spawned TV
advertising that injected millions of
dollars into the state's economy and
took the candidates into virtually
every corner of the state.
"I don't know whether people
are really paying attention to the
treasurer's race," lamented John
Cordisco, a Bucks County lawyer
and one of the four candidates for
the Democratic nomination for that
office.
The other contenders for the
nomination the only statewide
contest on the ballot besides the
presidential primary are retired
venture capitalist Rob McCord of
Bryn Mawr, state Rep. Jennifer Mann
of Allentown and former investment
counselor Dennis Morrison-Wesley
of Harrisburg.
McCord, 49, a newcomer to
elective politics, has raised by
far the most money, including $1
million he loaned to his campaign,
and has advertised heavily on TV
and in newspapers. As of April 7, his
campaign had more than $2 million
on hand.
"I got into this race knowing that
no party insider would lift me into
the office," McCord said, making
an implicit jab at Cordisco, whose
insider credentials include six years
in the state House of Representatives
in the 1980 s and the chairmanship
of the Bucks County Democratic
Committee since 2002.
Cordisco, 53, whose campaign
went up on TV on Thursday, had
about $307,000 on hand in early
THE CAPITAL TIMES April 21, 2008
teaching them, and all aspects of
interaction with them," she said.
Giving exams is her least favorite.
She finds them to be pressure on her
Art History professor, Ilene Rosenberg thinks that education
should be uplifting and enjoyable.
and the students. "Education should
be uplifting and enjoyable, not a
source of stress," Rosenberg said.
disabilities. He has given expert
witness testimony for court cases,
including the Supreme Court case
Youngburg v Romeo, which was a
right to treatment case.
Penn State Harrisburg is the only
institution to offer the ABA program
in the region.
Many students in the master's
program enroll specifically to work
with the mental health and mental
retardation community (MHMR).
Foxx feels that these students come
into the program for the best of
reasons
Foxx believes that the number
one priority for advocates should be
April and debts totaling $260.000.
He has criticized McCord's reliance
on fellow venture capitalists to
finance his campaign and says he
has put more than 11,000 miles on
his donated campaign car since
January.
Mann, 38, is a fifth-term legislator
whose campaign war chest at
the beginning of the month was
about $22,000, She said she has
concentrated on Democratic
strongholds in southwestern
Pennsylvania, whose industrial
heritage is similar to that in the
Lehigh Valley.
"There is no candidate at all from
the west" in the race, she said.
Morrison-Wesley, 58, born and
raised in Philadelphia, spent a decade
working as an investment adviser
in several firms and is currently a
Comcast salesman. He said he hopes
his stands against abortion rights and
gun control will win votes.
"When you don't have money,
you've got to be unorthodox," said
Morrison-Wesley, whose campaign
reported having $43 on hand as of
April 7.
None of Pennsylvania's 19 members
of the U.S. House of Representatives
faces a primary challenge this year,
but a couple of the primary contests
stand out.
Republican Rep. John Peterson's
decision to retire in the sprawling
sth Congressional District has
spawned a nine-way contest for the
GOP nomination to succeed him.
The winner will presumably be the
front-runner this fall in the heavily
Republican district in north-central
Pennsylvania. Three candidates are
seeking the Democratic nod.
One of the highest-spending
candidates on the Republican side,
financial planner Derek Walker,
was charged just five days before
the primary with burglary, criminal
trespass and other counts stemming
from an incident involving his
ex-girlfriend last year. He denied
any wrongdoing, and said the
charges were politically motivated.
In the 10th District in the
state's northeastern corner, two
Still teaching at HACC, Rosenberg
is also a part of their Art and
Decorating committee. This
committee seeks out artists and sets
up shows to display their
works.
Rosenberg is also an
artist herself. "I like to
paint when I have the
time to do it. I can't to
fit it into my schedule
right now, but I plan
on getting back to it
in the summer," she
said. Drawing, going to
museums, and reading are
some ofher other hobbies.
Though Rosenberg
thinks that she is
not goal oriented it is
important for her to
better herself; improve
her quality of teaching,
travel, and make sure
her family is together
and in good health.
"I like to enjoy life
as it comes," said
Rosenberg. Her advice
to students is to not feel
overburdened by
your studies but appreciate its
value, but most of all: enjoy what
you are doing
adult protective services, ensuring
quality education and services for
adults in Pennsylvania. There are
currently bills that would provide
this legislation, sponsored by
Representative Matt Baker (HB 361)
and Senator Pat Vance (SB 1049).
Foxx also said that quality early
intervention should be a priority. He
feels that by using high quality ABA
intervention procedures, that it would
be possible to make individuals
with developmental disabilities
indistinguishable from their peers.
"When you heighten awareness for
people with special needs, everybody
wins." Said Foxx.
businessmen are competing for
the GOP nomination to take on
Democratic Rep. Chris Carney in
November. Carney, a freshman,
won the seat in 2006 by defeating
a longtime Republican incumbent
embroiled in a sex scandal.
In Harrisburg, 26 members of the
state House of Representatives face
primary challenges, 17 Democrats
and nine Republicans. Of the 19 state
senators who are seeking additional
terms, none has any intraparty
opposition.
Credible primary challenges
have been mounted against at least
three Democratic incumbents from
Philadelphia: Reps. Tony Payton
Jr., William F. Keller and Harold
James. Payton's challenger Guy
Lewis has the backing of many in
the party establishment; Keller is
running against Christian DiCicco,
a well-funded protege of Sen. Vince
Fumo; and James faces community
organizer Kenyatta Johnson.
In the state's opposite corner, two
term Rep. Kathy Rapp's re-election
effort has left two of the region's
most powerful Republicans on
opposite sides. Rapp, R-Warren,
has the backing of U.S. Rep. John
Peterson, R-Pa., while her primary
opponent Kerry L. Gem has the
endorsement of Senate President
Pro Tempore Sen. Joe Scarnati, R-
Jefferson.
And in Lebanon County, Rep.
Mauree Gingrich survived a
challenge to her nominating petitions
that went to the state Supreme
Court. But the man who took her
to court, Republican challenger
Russ Diamond, has continually
raised allegations of electoral fraud
in their three-way primary race.
Diamond is founder of the anti
incumbency group PACleanSweep;
the other candidate is Bruce
Kreider.
Six senators are retiring this
year, including Fumo, a master of
Harrisburg politics who bowed out
of the race as he prepares for trial
on federal corruption charges. Three
Democrats are competing for the
nomination to fill his seat.