The Fora: A Higher Education Community

I'd like to bang colleague's head.

Student submits final essay with 98% similarity. Student emails "I matched with myself. I asked my English professor if I could turn in the same paper I wrote for you to him too. He said it was ok." Stu forwards email exchange confirming. The English prof said something like "welp, it looks like you got lucky that the essay you'd write for him works for my prompt. Go ahead. [Ratguy] won't mind."

In what world is this ok?

On at least one occasion I have had a student email me several years after they graduated to changed a grade of a course several years before that to raise their GPA so they can get into some graduate program. (It turned out they had emailed several professors in my department with the same request.) The response was easy, in that it is not possible to change a grade of a student once they graduate.

I emailed their academic advisor to give them a heads-up about Stu's unethical request.

We'll see what happens next if anything.

Quote from: evil_physics_witchcraft on Today at 06:20:25 AMStudent missed the final exam because stu mixed up the days. I understand that things happen, but I've been talking about this exam for the past two weeks, posting about it online and oh, it's in the syllabus. I guess it would have helped if stu came to class more often...

Edit: Should I take pity on stu and allow a makeup with penalty? Damn, this kind of thing always gets me in trouble though...

I'd let them take it in my office.  My chair would NOT have my back if I said they earned a 0 on the final exam.

Quote from: jimbogumbo on Today at 11:16:28 AMab_grp: how are you seeing Homicide? I didn't think it was streaming anywhere. It was a favorite of mine.

Sorry, that's one of the series we're watching on DVD (plus Succession, Doctor Who currently).  The recent streaming ones (on Amazon Prime) were Mr. Robot, Fallout, Person of Interest.   

I don't know what percentage of police officers rather look forward to a small scale riot so they can break out the bats and hats and do a little recreational billy clubbing.  But from the photos I've seen, that numbers is not zero.

This is not gonna end well.

Now USC has cancelled its main graduation ceremony entirely:

QuoteIn the wake of a controversy surrounding the valedictory address and pro-Palestinian demonstrators on campus, the University of Southern California on Thursday announced its main graduation ceremony will not be held.

"With the new safety measures in place this year, the time needed to process the large number of guests coming to campus will increase substantially," the school wrote in an announcement. "As a result, we will not be able to host the main stage ceremony that traditionally brings 65,000 students, families, and friends to our campus all at the same time and during a short window from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m."

School officials said they plan to post details of their updated commencement plans on the graduation website by April 30.

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/usc-cancels-main-graduation-ceremony/


Were I a graduating senior (or parent of one), I'd be very unhappy with the activists who brought this about.

Sorry for the double. More on Texas: https://www.thefire.org/news/texas-tramples-first-amendment-rights-police-crackdown-pro-palestinian-protests

Quote from: Ruralguy on Today at 11:50:53 AMOf course its a horrible idea. But some people will call for horrible solutions knowing that its the way to get attention.

It is in my opinion a serious mistake to think that this was just a way to get attention. The GOP has a non trivial number of supporters and elected officials that want to do this and similar things as policy. I believe he and others (see my earlier post about Governor Abbott in Texas) want to and have done exactly this.

Quote from: marshwiggle on Today at 05:18:19 AMThis needs a term, like "recursive slacktivism"; where "activism" means doing nothing other than yelling for someone else to do something which in turn will have no discernible effect.

That neologism is both accurate and easily interpreted! Thanks, I shall endeavour to put it to good use.