Should Each Professor Decide Academic Dishonesty Consequences?

A faculty committee calls for standards in academic integrity penalties ("UNR Faculty Push for Consistent Cheating Penalties," Reno Gazette-Journal, April 27, 2016). The article mentioned that a recommendation from a campus group was to have faculty report cheating issues to "an online portal" and educate professors and students on academic integrity policies. The chair of the campus group mentioned that she believes some professors do not report cheating because it is seen as a problematic process and instead impose their own punishments that can be lenient while others are harsh.

Discussion Questions:

1. The article mentions the importance of "catching students" when they first begin college classes to cut down on cheating. Do you think the article suggests that the college is mainly interested in punishing students to stop them from committing further academic dishonesty? Why or why not?
2. Do you think professors should have the right to decide penalties for cheating in their classes? Or should professors be able to choose academic dishonesty penalties only from a range of options approved by a college or university? Why or why not?
3. Do you believe that students need to be more informed on what actions are academically dishonest so they know how to avoid cheating and plagiarism? Why or why not?

Olympic Logo Plagiarism Issue Resolved

The newly redesigned Tokyo Summer Games logo was recently revealed to be quite different than the first version that was seen as plagiarizing a Belgian theater's logo ("Tokyo 2020 Unveils New Olympic Logo after Plagiarism Allegations," The Guardian (UK), April 25, 2016). The total revamp of the Olympic logo was done by a different designer after the creator of the theater's graphic commenced litigation to stop the use of the original Tokyo 2020 logo.

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you think it was an accident that the two designers created a somewhat similar logo? Why or why not?
2. Do you think it's easier to avoid plagiarism with words vs. plagiarism with images? Why or why not?