FHSTheFlash The Flash Volume 46, Issue 5 April 2006 | Page 4
4
Technology
Technology vs. Tradition
By Sarah Zalewski ‘06
Flash Staff Reporter
Using blockers, cover
sheets, or different tests are
often what teachers use to
stop cheating; but now
there’s a new nemesis for the
cheating world: the Internet.
Students can buy papers
online, text message answers
to each other and also use the
Internet to search for an-
swers. Since the teachers
don’t know what the students
are doing on every computer,
it’s becoming more and more
difficult to find out, let alone
to stop the cheating. Some
schools have an idea on how
to stop online cheating:
make it legal.
Technology is advancing
more than anyone ever
imagined. It’s used in
everyday life from driving a
car to work to sending and
receiving emails from
friends. Now it’s being used
to cheat. A few schools
nationwide are now
permitting cheating off the
Internet by legalizing it.
According to the Scholastic News Service, “teachers
at these schools argue that
Internet skills are necessary
in today’s world. It isn’t
cheating, the teachers say,
because we’ve changed the
rules to allow it.”
While some schools now
allow the legalized cheating,
other schools have found
more flexible test taking
strategies like taking tests
with a friend or a group so
that one can get multiple answers and a better chance at
a higher grade. There are
people who are against
cheating and see it as a destruction of morals and a
demolition of principles.
These people are the ones
Whose space?
By Amanda Dupure ‘07
Assistant Editor
Over 50 million users are proof; MySpace is an addiction that has seen
explosive growth among teens today. It’s taking over cyberspace in record
time with it only being in existence since January 2004, and not surprisingly, a larger percentage of Fraser High School’s students have one of
their own.
MySpace is a website that features personal profiles that anyone 14
years of age or older can feature themselves on. MySpace accounts are
free and are most commonly occupied by teenagers and adults into their
mid twenties.
According to the website, MySpace makes it possible for users to share
photos, journals, and interests with a growing network of mutual friends.
Anyone can own an account by just signing up on-line.
Along with its popularity, comes a number of dangerous aspects of the
website. MySpace can potentially invite predators and identity thieves
into homes. A number of occurrences have taken place due to users not
taking their on-line security into serious consideration. Although the site
does warn users not to post any identifiable information, a number of
users don’t abide by the guidelines suggested.
“I know that MySpace can be dangerous but I made sure not to post any
personal information,” said freshman Veronica Kieffer, “I think that by
using common sense you can avoid any problems with the website.”
Underage preteens are slipping past the rules by simply lying about
their age in order to occupy their own page. Being a public site for people
even outside of the country, personal information is dangerous to have on
the site. The site also provokes cases of harassment and stalking. Naïve
users welcome themselves into cases like these by supplying personal
information that leads right to them. Just like the site states “a little common sense goes a long way.”
Schools have been banning the site from being in use by their students
with the argument that the site is inappropriate. Most of the sites do consist of provocative and seductive aspects that may not be suggested for
young users, but it is being examined whether or not this ban is even
actually legal.
MySpace employs a number of workers who monitor the site 24 hours
a day. They also work with law enforcement agencies to keep form any
confrontation having to deal with predators on the web. There have been
seven recent cases where sexually assaulted teen girls admitted to meeting their attackers on MySpace.
who are fighting for the tradition that “you get what you
deserve.”
According to the Scholastic News Service, “the
skills of intelligent surfing
and analysis, some argue, are
just as crucial as rote memorization. The new rules of
cheating aren’t being accepted by all, as most in
academia view the change as
an erosion of principles.”
There is a zero-tolerance
policy for cheating at Fraser
High School and anyone
who does it and gets caught
will be punished accordingly.
“I feel that it is immoral
and is setting us up to fail
later in life. Teachers are supposed to help us to learn not
teach us to cheat,” said Jamie
Mucaria ‘06.
There are many consequences to cheating. Here at
Fraser, when someone
cheats, they lose credit for
the quarter and it affects their
overall G.P.A. Other disciplinary actions can be taken
towards avenging cheating
in hopes of teaching a
cheater his lesson on why not
to cheat.
“If cheating was legal then
the whole purpose of morals
would diminish,” said
Rebekah Tacoma ‘06.
Either way, it’s a choice.
Some schools have chosen to
accept cheating and
“legalize” it in order to move
towards technology and its
new uses, while other
schools have chosen to keep
the tradition of doing one’s
own work, and getting the
deserved grade. Is it worth
the risk to cheat and is it okay
to legalize it? Should
cheating still be unallowed
and students work for their
grade? Some schools say that
if you can’t fight them, join
them. Well, how about, if
you can’t fight them, try
harder.
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