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Maxson,
students sign honor pledge
Pledge
• By signing the honor pledge,
students agree to complete their assignments
with honesty while at CSULB. Jon Cook /
Online Forty-Niner
By
Lesley Nickus
Online Forty-Niner
Assistant City Editor
Students
and faculty gathered at the Student Union's
southwest terrace Thursday to show their
support for Cal State Long Beach's new Honor
Pledge.
"I
pledge on my honor that I will not give
or receive any unauthorized assistance on
my assignments/examinations," read
the 12 by 15 foot canvas banner that was
displayed in the terrace for students to
sign.
Pizza,
drinks and music were provided for those
who signed the pledge. The Doug Means Project,
a local band, played live reggae music during
the lunch hour. A disc jockey also played
music during the event. Cypress Family Pizza
provided the food, and various local vendors,
including the University Bookstore, donated
raffle prizes.
The
first to sign the banner was President Robert
C. Maxson. With true Beach Pride, he wrote
"Go Beach" underneath his signature,
while those in attendance cheered him on.
"This
is a great example of students taking the
initiative to say 'We're gonna pledge honesty,'"
Maxson said.
The
idea to host an Honor Pledge event came
from the Public Relations Student Society
of America's Bateman Team, led by Assistant
Professor Matt Cabot.
Every
year, the Bateman Team organizes an event
for a client in order to promote a specific
cause.
This
year, however, the team joined a national
competition with schools across the country
to promote the Honor Pledge, a movement
that supports academic integrity and honesty.
The Bateman Team even got local news crews
to cover the event, including KTLA, who
featured the event during their "News-at-Ten"
broadcast.
"This
is brand new for our campus," Cabot
said. "There are about 70 to 80 schools
participating."
The
pledge was spearheaded by the Center for
Student Ethical Development and the decision
to support the Honor Pledge at CSULB was
made by the Academic Senate in October 2004.
Faculty
can implement the Honor Pledge in their
classes at their own discretion. If a professor
chooses to adopt the pledge system in his
or her classroom, students will be asked
to sign their name after the pledge at the
end of each exam. Just as the decision to
implement the pledge is optional, so is
the decision to sign it. Making students
aware of the problem of cheating is a big
step in reducing the problem.
"Cheating
not only short-changes yourself but also
your classmates. I think schools should
do this on a more regular basis," Richard
Leahy, a CSULB junior, said. "Cheaters
do not deserve a degree from this university."
Donald
McCabe and Gary Pavela, authors of an article
published in Change magazine in 1997, came
up with a list of principles of academic
integrity. The article examined the impact
of faculty involvement on the academic honesty
of students, and looked at a modified honor
code that includes tips for avoiding plagiarism
in the "age of the Internet."
A new article published by McCabe and Pavela
in 2004 also includes many interesting statistics.
Empirical
evidence suggests that modified codes prevent
cheating, McCabe and Pavela wrote. Three
campuses with modified honor codes experienced
a reduction in the rates of cheating and
plagiarism during the 1999-2000 academic
year when the code was implemented. McCabe
and Pavela stressed the importance of faculty
involvement in developing integrity, saying
it is important for faculty members to take
action when cheating or plagiarism occurs.
Many
supporters believe integrity is a matter
of personal belief and practice. Doing your
own work proves that you are worthy of the
rewards you obtain.
"I
believe in survival of the fittest,"
said Heidi Muir, a fashion merchandising
major at CSULB. "If you can make it
on your own, you can really make it."
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