Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Is a public false accusation of plagiarism in college defamation?

My wife recently entered college (she is 30). She recently submitted a paper to her English professor. He accused her of plagiarism and told her he is going to uncover it. He did this in front of her class. He then read the paper aloud in another class and asked if anyone knew where it came from because he thought it was plagiarized. He did not say who the writer was to the second class but since everyone in the first class knew it was my wife, the word has spread througout the school. My wife actually has the hand written rough draft. She spoke to the Dean of Students who is very upset about how this teacher handled the situation. Is there any legal grounds for defamation in terms of how this teacher has publically made these accusations given that 1) She has the proof that she wrote it originally and 2) Because we know it is an original work, there is no basis to the teacher finding otherwise? The school has a plagiarism policy but it certainly doesn't include public accusations.Is a public false accusation of plagiarism in college defamation?
The object is to get a degree, not to piss in the pool. If you do have grounds, which I doubt would hold, especially if it is a state school, and you manage to win...you will be made to sign a form agreeing to withdraw from that school. Result: 15 minutes of fame, a few bucks, and no degree...and college admissions folk are tight as ticks...they will blackball her from here to Egypt.





I'm not saying this prof. was right (sounds like a major @ss hole)...in fact, I'm not saying anything about the situation per se. College is not a place to make friends and influence people...and it damned sure ain't fair. She must've done something that was a bit out of order, but his reaction should've been private. Still, the object is to graduate, not to fight. Pick your battles wisely...there are too many of them in college. Like Sgt. Barnes said to Charlie Sheen in ';Platoon,'; ...';There's the way it ought to be...and there's the way it is.';





Sorry to seem non-supportive...but she needs to move past this...and she needs to limit the damage. Remember, the Dean of Students paycheck is signed by the school, not by the student fund. The Dean of Students is there for the school, not the student.








ANNA: About the censure/apology thing. Sounds nice...but you and I both know it ain't gonna happen. I've never seen it happen, not even to non-tenure track profs., and for the most egregious of behaviors. The college needs him more than it needs this nice lady's money. You know as well as I do that these things get settled out of court...if they get settled at all. It is very sad, and a miscarriage of justice, but she ain't gonna win...and the more she pushes it, the deeper the **** will get. Sad, but true.Is a public false accusation of plagiarism in college defamation?
I'm not sure about the legality of it. But that was definitely out of line, and if he is tenured there really isn't anything you can do about it as far as him getting fired. I know here at OSU if you plagerise than you fail a course with a possible expulsion/suspension. BUT, it goes to a trial that consists of both faculty and students who review the cases. There is usually a high ';conviction'; rate because most professors won't take it that far unless they have serious evidence that they did cheat. But a hunch is definitely not enough. Going to the dean of students seems like the best bet.
Only if he knowingly made it public knowing that it wasn't. Being a jerk, unfortunately, doesn't qualify for defamation. He should be strongly censured and made to submit a public apology to your wife such as in the school newspaper.

No comments:

Post a Comment