Friday, May 11, 2007

Gross Injustice

I'm writing a paper on plagiarism. It's one of the many obstacles standing between me and graduation. I feel like I'm one of the last 3Ls with work to do. Oh wait, that's because I am.

Anyway, the paper on plagiarism...brought back memories of middle school...I think it was seventh grade, and we went on a field trip to the city to see a Magritte exhibit. You know, the man in the bowler hat with the apple in front of his face. During the museum visit, we were supposed to answer questions about the paintings. In my I-must-do-everything-the-teacher-says dorkiness, I did the assignment. Meanwhile, everyone else is running around the museum, flirting. Yeah, I engaged in some running around, but only after I completed the assignment. One of my friends who was not so diligent copied the answers from me.

A few days later, the teacher who brought us on that field trip made me stay after class. Then she took my assignment and compared it with my friend's assignment, and then accused me of plagiarism. After I explained to her that actually it was I who did the assignment and my friend who copied from me, she paused and said, oh, well, that's not allowed either.

I checked in with my friend who copied from me and wouldn't you know it. The teacher NEVER talked to her about this plagiarism. NEVER. Right now, writing about this, years later, makes my stomach roil with anger.

Onward, towards graduation! (BTW, I'm not actually going to graduation. And I might not get my diploma either because I owe the library $9.00 in fines. HA!)

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