Letter: School Committee needs to act against plagiarism

Posted 8/24/15

To the editor:

This letter is in response to the August 18, 2015 Little Compton School Committee meeting, where the matter of alleged plagiarism by Wilbur School Principal Joao Arruda was considered. During the meeting, which I attended, …

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Letter: School Committee needs to act against plagiarism

Posted

To the editor:

This letter is in response to the August 18, 2015 Little Compton School Committee meeting, where the matter of alleged plagiarism by Wilbur School Principal Joao Arruda was considered. During the meeting, which I attended, several definitions of plagiarism were discussed.

I am a  part-time lecturer at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in the Department of Community Nursing. I recently looked up the university’s  “Academic Regulations and Procedures,” as I do at the beginning of every school year. These policies are primarily for students. But as I reviewed them, I wondered how they might apply to Mr. Arruda’s actions at the June, 2015, eighth-grade graduation ceremony, as acknowledged by him at the August 18 meeting.

Did those actions represent plagiarism? If so, what disciplinary action would or should be taken by the superintendent and Little Compton School Committee?

Here are some of the relevant sections of the UMass Dartmouth regulations and procedures, under the subheading for “Student Academic Integrity Policy”:

“I Academic Integrity

 All UMass Dartmouth students are expected to maintain high standards of academic integrity and scholarly practice. The University does not tolerate academic dishonesty of any variety, whether as a result of a failure to understand required academic and scholarly procedure or as an act of intentional dishonesty. . . .

Academic freedom is a fundamental right in any institution of higher learning. Honesty and integrity are necessary preconditions of this freedom. Academics integrity requires that all academic work be wholly the product of an identified individual or individuals. . . .

II Violations of Academic Integrity

Plagiarism is the representation of the words or ideas of another as one’s own in any academic exercise. To avoid plagiarism, every direct quotation must be identified by marks or by appropriate indentation and must be properly cited in the text or in a footnote. Acknowledgment is required when material from another source stored in print, electronic or other medium is paraphrased or summarized in whole or in part in one’s own words....”   (Source: http://www.umassd.edu/studentaffairs/studenthandbook/academicregulationsandprocedures/)

As a former member of the Little Compton School Committee, who served for eight year in the 1990s, I hope this serious matter is dealt with clearly, professional and expeditiously.

Nan Haffenreffer

Little Compton

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