what to do about plagiarism by emigres

[Emil Draitser]

I second Professor Hunter's opinion on how plagiarism of the Russians
should be handled.
Emil A. Draitser,
Hunter College

On Tue, 7 May 1996, Robert Hunter wrote:

>         After retiring from public school teaching in the US I taught in
 Russia
> for a year and then established a year-long high school program for students
> from the cities of Novgorod, Borovichi, and Staraya Russa to come to upstate
> New York.  While teaching in Novgorod (high school and university), I was
> appalled at the extent of all kinds of cheating.  Openly sharing answers,
> shpargalki, and plagiarism were the norm --- except during the oral part of
> final examinations.  To expect Russian students to come with an understanding
> and willingness to abide by the American norms regarding academic honesty is,
 I
> believe, naive.  One of the major issues covered in the orientation of the
> Russian students coming to the US to study is the very different approach to
> and standards regarding cheating/plagiarism.  Going over the meaning and
> implications of cheating/plagiarism at the beginning of the semester is, I
> contend, insufficient.  I believe the Russian students should be given a
 chance
> , i.e., when caught cheating/plagiarizing, repeating the explanation, and
> permitting the student to redo the work according to US academic standards.
>         In explaining the meaning and implication of cheating/plagiarism in US
> academic institutions, I believe it is important to emphasize how this fits
> into the larger cultural picture.  This is important because the Russian
> understanding of and respect for rules and law is different from the American.
> In Russia, rules and laws and impediments meant to be circumvented one way or
> another.  Here is a recent example.  A Russian businessman was learning about
> Rotary.  At a Rotary meeting in the US, he said that he had only one question
> regarding the possibility of organizing a club in Russia --- how important was
> adherence to rules?  He then commented that, for cultural reasons, it would
> be very difficult for future Russian Rotarians not to attempt to circumvent
 the
> rules.
>         I believe we owe Russian students, be they exchange or emigre, care
 and
> consideration in learning our culture.  After having been given fair
> explanation and warning, rigid adherence to standards should be the norm.
>         Dobro,
>         Robert Hunter
>
> ***************************************************************************
>   Robert Hunter, M.Ed, M.A.               8 Red Fox Run
>   Psychology Department                   Pittsford, NY 14534-3428
>   Monroe Community College                Voice: (716) 248-5075
>   Rochester, New York                     Fax: (716) 383-8723
>                      rhunter at eckert.acadcomp.monroecc.edu
> ***************************************************************************
>