LETTER: Research issue before printing

Dear Editor, The Statesman should take greater care in crafting an opinion against spending money on the Honor Pledge. The amount of hours and research Andy Haws spent on this subject is commendable and was a year-long process. Prior to Andy Haws, other academic VPs for the Associated Students of Utah State University have also spent countless hours studying the issue of an honor code and honor pledge. Posting the pledge students should live by is a wise use of money and would bring results similar to other schools. The fact is Utah State has a considerable amount of cheating regardless of the current measures that take place. The research done by Haws shows institutions that enact an honor code and pledge have much lower levels of cheating than those who do not. The assumption taken by The Statesman that because Utah State was not included in the McCabe study there is no proof cheating takes place at our school is just plain ignorance. College may be the place students learn accountability, but the institution has a right to protect and treasure students who earn the grades without cheating. Being proactive in the approach to cheating is much better than sitting back and allowing it to happen. The Statesman diminishes the work of honest students who have never even cheated once. I find it hard to believe a newspaper would not believe that one time is too many when it comes to plagiarism? What kind of standard is The Statesman teaching its writers and readers when it states that honor and integrity in academia is a useless tool for students? Before taking a stance against the money being spent by ASUSU, The Statesman would be wise to spend the same amount of time researching the issue. For The Statesman it must be easier to criticize than to actually spend time studying the issue before releasing an opinion.

Tad Thornton