Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. day (today)

I disagree with your disagreement . There are many people who ecome famous becuase they cheat, but even if a famous person gets caught, are you saying they get a free pass?

Your other question asks if a committee should be formed and revoke degrees that are plagerism, and not their own work..... in a word, yes. I don't think they are wasting their time, I think that if plagerist get their degrees with little or no work, then why would anybody write their dissertation? Seems pretty straight forward to me.

 

You're disagreeing with something I never said. What I said was that if any member of this board was caught plagiarizing 1/3 of their dissertation, then their degree would be revoked.

You disagree with that???

 

I am a black man. While I recognised the good work that Dr. King has done for human freedom, I must indicate that I do not appreciate anyone who plagiarized his/her dissertation. To me, that is claiming someone else work as yours. If Dr. king plagiarized, I would agree with Boston University if they choose to revoke his degree.

However, if the school chose to let his doctorate stand based on available evidence of plagiarism, then, shame on Boston University. For those of us who know that an evidence of plagiarism exists, I agree with the conclusion that an academic dishonesty exist and if it is labelled as fraud, so it is.

I just can't believe that racism exists just because a white man challenges a plagiarism allegation on a black man. How would it be charaterized if a black man challenges another black man for academic fraud?

Regardless of his short comings, I still appreciate Dr. King other accomplishments. May his soul continue to rest in peace. Thank you.

 

Kristie7 wrote:

> There are many people who become famous becuase they
> cheat, but even if a famous person gets caught, are you saying
> they get a free pass?

Certainly not! If MLK had been still alive, I would have fully favoured the committee's summoning him, and (unless his defence was cogent) revoking his degree.

> I think that if plagerist get their degrees with little or no
> work, then why would anybody write their dissertation?

Plagiarism is bad, and living plagiarists should be punished. But fear that one's degree may be revoked after one's death -- how much deterrent value do you think that has?

Bruce wrote:

> You're disagreeing with something I never said.

You wrote, "I have stated that any member of this board who did the same thing would have had their degree revoked almost instantly." The words "if caught" do not appear anywhere in that statement.

> What I said was that if any member of this board was
> caught plagiarizing 1/3 of their dissertation, then their degree
> would be revoked. You disagree with that???

If a committee were convened, then yes, the degree would be revoked. However, if an alumnus were merely "caught" by university administration, the administration might well decide that convening a committee would bring bad publicity to the university, and decide to keep things quiet instead.