Math professor manhunt for cheating students proves successful

Honestly, people — didn’t your parents ever teach you that cheating was wrong? I get scared just reading the academic misconduct consequences on syllabi at the beginning of each semester for fear that my professor is directing it at me out of some irrational fear that they know something about me that I don’t know about myself. 

However, two brave souls — although I do not condone this type of bravery — decided it was smart to cheat the system of Math 101. The students in question are being accused of sneaking into another section's quiz time to gauge what kinds of questions were going to be on their own section's quiz. 

Although, the students didn’t quite think everything through. While they used a fake name and student number — which is how the misconduct was discovered — the professor started looking at handwriting from the false quizzes to find the culprits. 

The professor wrote an incredibly passive-aggressive email to all Math 101 students explaining the situation and asking the culprits to come forward. 

“This is your one and only chance to come forward and admit what you did and why you made that choice. If you do so, I will definitely have a stern talk with you, but I will be very lenient in terms of formal punishment. If you choose to remain silent, however, it is simply a matter of time before we can identify you based on the information we have (which includes a scan of every single quiz taken); in that case, I will personally lobby your faculty to have you suspended from UBC,” the email read.  

The email goes on to talk about not only academic integrity, but personal integrity as well. It also calls into question how the cheaters live their lives. 

Luckily, the students smartened up and decided to follow the professors’ advice by turning themselves in. The professor sent out a follow-up email to all students, commending their honesty while also encouraging students that no matter how stressful a semester can be, it is wise to resist the temptation of cheating. 

“I do assure you that your future selves will place much more weight on your integrity now than about a possible marginal numerical improvement on a quiz in a course,” the email finishes. 

If that isn’t the nicest professor on campus, I don’t know who is. 

To future and current cheaters — just turn yourself in. While it will be humiliating for you to listen to your professor give you a lecture on something other than calculus, it will be better than getting suspended from UBC and having to explain yourselves to your family and friends why you are no longer in school.

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