Students Still Cheat Despite Precautions
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It 1111M1grIti:. Students still cheat 44:11 despite precautions By Rial Cummings nuisance," he said. fools." "Remember that a good Spar- A.S. Personnel Officer Gloria Philosophy Prof. Peter Koesten- sac' 612;:, tan will not cheat his friends to Grotjan believes cheating is baum takes a different view. improve his own score, nor cheat becoming more common. "I operate on the honor system," his mere acquaintances to benefit "I walked out of a final last year he said. "I'm not a policeman. I tell his friends." and someone said half the class had the students we're in this game SJSU Blue Book cheated," she recalled. "It might together and take it from there." There are many "good Spartans" have been true, I saw a lot of cheat Some students point out SJSU on this campus. cards slipped between pages of the does not exert the grade pressure of There are also others: an test." other universities. engineering major who earned The traditional stretch-neck, rov- Undeclared sophomore Beth pocket money by selling exam ing-eye method seems to be most Donnelly transferred from Santa questions to other students; a popular. Its adherents favor its Clara and notices a big difference. graduate student in history who safety and difficulty to prove. "There's more cheating at Santa faked over 100 footnotes on a "My observation is that students Clara," she said. "Kids pass notes, masters thesis; and a French are more serious about learning," talk when the professor leaves the student who snuck a "cheat sheet" said history Prof. Charles Burdick. room, and forge papers. A lot of into class, noticed his neighbor had a "They're concerned about job skills, them have to maintain high GPA's better one, and calmly switched the not just grades. Sure, there's some to retain scholarships. Others are two. cheating going on, but I don't think competing for graduate schools. No hard data is available on it's really gone up or down." "There shouldn't be so much cheating at SJSU; it's not the kind of If any general trends can be emphasis on grades. So you blow an thing surveyed on summer update drawn, they are that cheating is exam it doesn't mean you didn't forms. But it does exist, and is ac- more likely to take place in larger learn anything," she said. cepted by many students as an in- classes where direct teacher-student And one student who dropped out Wall Blackford tegral part of college life. contact is rare. of the U.S. Naval Academy said This student Shows how a "cheat sheet" can be used during an exam without detection by the instructor As Philosophy Department But cheating precautions do not stories on cheating scandals at the Chairman Lucias Eastman said, necessarily reduce the problem. military academies "have only less rigorous." desperate to keep from flunking "I had feverishly copied down all "I'm just hardened to it. I don't William Spring, director of the touched the tip of the iceberg. "I've heard stories about out." my formulas the night before." he think it's a major problem but it's a student advisement center, believes "There's definitely less pressure pressure on grad school can- Many students said they would said. "But the next morning I fact of life, a part of the system." a more low-key atmosphere can here," he said. "The honor code didates," said Dr. Robert Johnk, not turn in a fellow cheater, discovered I had left them in my Views are mixed as to whether keep cheating down. there was bullshit. I didn't know associate dean of engineering. "But reasoning: "He's hurting only dorm room. As it turned out, in doing cheating is increasing or "In a hostile environment," he anyone who didn't bend the rules I don't think that's correct here. In himself, not me." all the preparation to cheat, I ac- decreasing. Many professors and said, "you're telling the student he's somewhere. Here, there's fewer my experience, most cheaters have Ironically, one mathematics tually learned the damn things. I got students say it has stayed about the suspect. I don't care how honest you time restrictions and the program is been students on the borderline, major disproved this theory. an A on the exam." same. are, a challenge like that can be Of the 35 students randomly in- hard to resist. I've read all the terviewed for this story, four said stories, even to the point of they cheated "frequently" and a hollowing out wrist watches and dozen more admitted to cheating on stuffing notes in there." one or two occasions. None would "But I don't see why it should get give their names for publication. to the point where students are "They can't stop us from frisked beforehand. Our attitudes cheating," said a speech junior. "I are often wrong. Exams should not sneak notes into certain classes. just demonstrate a student's know- artanSerbittg the Sao Jose State Daily Universitv Comatunitv Since 1934 Naturally precautions vary, but I ledge, but also show his weaknesses figure the odds are in my favor if I'm in a diagnostic sense." careful about it." "I don't worry about it," said Dr. Volume 67, Number 29 Thursday, October 14, 1976 Phone: 277-3181 "I think cheating declined during Alvin Beckett, chairman of the the activist years of the late 605," Business Education Department. said biology Prof. Wilfred Iltis, "and "But I do take the precaution of now it's coming back again. using two different copies of my "Still, I don't view it as a major tests at the same time. There's no Council passes ordinance prohibiting problem here it's more a damn use putting temptation in the way of Updated Tower List wading in San Antonio Plaza's fountain Swimming and wading will be aimed, though, at protecting the city other ordinances such as disobeying However, he said the patrol prohibited in the Cascade Fountain against lawsuits from persons using an officer. probably will be an on-going ready in the Paseo de San Antonio as the the Cascade Fountain, according to The new ordinance will be en- assignment and would require next month funding result of an ordinance passed Tues- Superintendent of Parks, Dick Reed. forced by a park ranger stationed next year. day by the San Jose City Council. He added the ordinance will give near the fountain on weekends and Bacteria discovered By Diana Teasland could be evaluated by a instructor The ordinance, with restrictions the park ranger, who has been holidays. Concern about the activity in the Students who have been waiting greater number. broader than just the fountain, is a patrolling the mall area every Those who violate the ordinance 82.5 million fountain developed this for the seventh edition of the Tower Several instructors have also general trespass regulation allowing weekend. _since September, more can, be charged with a mis- summer when city officials received List will be able to purchase it in the said since the cards are filled out city officials to prohibit public ac- enforcement power. The ordinance demeanor. complaints regarding swimming, bookstore in late November. anonomously, students can "stuff cess to city property if it is will go into effect Nov. 26. Reed said the ranger patrol at the bathing and washing clothes in the The list, which is an evaluation of the box" by writing several evalua- detrimental to the public health, Citations issued fountain does not require additional pool. SJSU professors by their students, is tions on one teacher. welfare and safety. In the past, he said, any citations city funds because the ranger was A Santa Clara County Health De- published every two years by Tau Since its inception in 1963, the The ordinance specifically was the ranger issued were through reassigned from another park. partment test indicated there was a Sigma Delta, a honor fraternity. Tower List has been threatened with presence of coliform bacteria in the "It's taking longer than ex- four libel suits. fountain, an indicator of con- pected," said Pat Alvarez, advising the first year two pro- During taminated water. chairman of the list. "We didn't get fessors actually initiated lawsuits Four samples of water were it out during the summer like we against the fraternity. The lawsuits taken and none passed the cleanli- should have because we all had later were dropped. ness test standards. other comittments." Alvarez said it takes a lot of time Vice Mayor Roy Naylor recom- Alvarez added there are between and work to edit thousands of stu- mended last month that the city 15 and 20 fratennity volunteers work- dent comments. administration propose a solution to ing on this edition. The list is "Every comment is condensed" the problem because of the in- published every two years. he said. "We try to balance them creasing possibility of lawsuits. During the spring semester, (comments). We put in some good Ordinance necessary 'students wrote their evaluations and ones and some bad ones." "We can't treat the water that 'comments on IBM cards that were the fraternity is Alvarez said often," Naylor said. He added the given out in classrooms. from pub- presently taking bids fountain was a visual pool and was Alvarez said when a teacher the cost does not lishers. They hope not intended for wading. ,refused to allow any evaluation to spent on exceed $10,000, the amount Naylor pointed out that City occur in the classroom, students the last edition.