The internet is a glorious thing: it emboldens stalkers,
encourages snooping and eases the lives of overwhelmed students who
borrow essays off various websites. Composing an essay from scratch
seems like an absolute waste of time; it’s certainly something
that will cut into important social activities. Why would anyone
bother? It’s just plagiarism, and it is only accompanied by the
minor caveat of expulsion from school. Details…
The origins of such student initiative date
back to the cave days, where students quickly determined that they
could create two assignments in the time of one by hammering at two
small rock tablets on top of each other, rather than one large one
each. It was with this discovery that these brilliant cave students
found the time to make fire and other useful inventions we still
require today.
The benefits of plagiarism can be found all
the way through history, from Plato to Shakespeare. A great opus does
not write itself, especially when only one person is contributing to
it. Yet, inside the hallowed corridors of today's educational
institutions, the sacred borrowing of another person’s ideas is
met with hushed tones and furrowed brows. Nary can a syllabus be found
without reference to the evils of “plagiarism.” Each
student in each class is forced through lecture after lecture extolling
the university policy on the he or she who selectively borrows. Yet it
seems the desperation to avoid the pitfalls of copying has struck fear
solely in the minds of the institution itself.
Academia has gone to bizarre lengths to
ensure that borrowed work can be spotted and discarded with the
appropriate flourish and punishment to ensure no damage to any
reputation. Many professors refuse to make themselves vulnerable to the
ingenuity of students by removing written assignments entirely from the
curriculum. The claim is that they do not possess the time to critique
student work and ensure that it is truly original. This must mean that
the legions of teacher’s assistants are far too busy as well. Or
at least have been told that they are too busy to be reduced to such a
task. Yet, one is left to wonder if it isn’t student marking that
is taking up their time, could it be the fear of letting a plagiarized
essay slip through their guard that keeps them up at night?
Turnitin.com has become synonymous with
plagiarism since its inception. Used by many in the educational field,
it has actually prompted universities to go as far as to spend student
money on the students themselves; it is for the good of the classroom,
they claim. These powers market fairness for all students in ensuring
no one can get away with plagiarizing by assuming that everyone is
plagiarizing to begin with. Yet, like everything else in the corporate
world, every endeavour is for profit, and
turnitin.com is no stranger to that fact. The program is an attractive
investment for scholarly copy-checkers due to the large database it
offers. A database chocked full of student work submitted at the
demands of the professor under a license paid to Turnitin
by the university. Turnitin creates a
lucrative database, professors enjoy point and click preservation of
their reputation and the student… has his or her work ripped off
for the benefit of others? Pardon my plagiarism, but for as long as those
in charge believe such hypocritical measures
will teach their students a lesson, their students will continue to get
their lessons from the “glorious” internet.
