Making the University Library a second home, spending more time studying than socializing to get the best grades possible is a sacrifice many students make. When midterms and finals get placed on the desk and a semester is on the line, all the preparation done beforehand will pay off.

Or students can go the easy route and just cheat since some administrators seemingly don’t give a damn about academic integrity.

Student Affairs is in charge of handling charges of academic honesty, but seems to not be interested in dealing with the problem or sending the message that cheating is not tolerated.

Ignoring school policy for convenience and leaving the campus in the dark unfortunately comes across as the standard for Student Affairs.

Student Affairs is supposed to submit a report about academic honesty to the Faculty Senate and Associated Students Inc.

Included in the report is supposed to be the number of cases and the responses. It’s been seven years since the policy was created and there hasn’t been one report created. Anyone who wants data on reports of student dishonesty must rely on Student Affairs, which has no information available.

What is the point of having policies if they can be ignored?

Attempts to talk with Lori Varlotta, vice president of Student Affairs and Leonard Valdez, director of student conduct, about Sacramento State’s plagiarism policy in greater detail were not returned.

Varlotta said in a previous story with The State Hornet published on Nov 9., “Modern policy on plagiarism: No disclosure,” she doesn’t think students want data released and Valdez has said he doesn’t see why anyone would want a report on plagiarism. Valdez said Student Affairs uses a computer tracking system which doesn’t work well, so he doesn’t use it often.

Why has the school invested money in a system that doesn’t work well to collect data on reports administrators don’t want to make?

A simple spreadsheet with the names redacted to protect students’ privacy, accusations ranging from questionable sourcing to complete plagiarism and the resulting actions, can’t be hard to create.

Other colleges have much more transparent policies when dealing with academic dishonesty.

If UC Davis has information available, there is no reason why Sacramento State and the other CSU’s can’t have a straight-forward, transparent policy.

Currently, CSU’s have administrators deal with cases of academic dishonesty while UC’s have student-led panels.

Students who put in effort to earn their degree shouldn’t have the person next to them cheapen it by receiving one without working for it.

A report by Student Affairs released to the campus community showing the consequences for confirmed cheaters would give faculty the ability to tell students what can happen to them for not doing their own work. Faculty telling students they will get referred to Student Affairs is a vague warning.

Getting referred to Student Affairs is not as intimidating as it should be. Valdez said his job focus is to educate students on how not to cheat and help students understand mistakes made. Actually disciplining those who are guilty doesn’t always happen.

How many college students actually need to be educated as to what cheating is?

Cheating, plagiarism and fabrication are acts students learn not to do long before they ever get here. Students should be scared out of their minds of getting caught cheating, not get their hands held.

The first time a student is found guilty of a major infraction he or she should fail the class, a second major infraction should result in expulsion. Messing up once in life happens.

Making the same huge mistake shows a lack of respect towards faculty and the overwhelming majority of fellow students who work for their achievements.

Sac State’s no disclosure, no data and inconsistent disciplinary policy from Student Affairs does accomplish one thing: it tells students if they get caught cheating, just shrug it off, it’s not so bad.

There is no reason why Sac State students shouldn’t be held to the same high standards other colleges hold and no reason why our administrators should not demand high academic integrity. Every student here is capable of passing without cheating.

The Editorial staff can be reached at [email protected]