Students Who Intentionally Plagiarize Should Be Expelled from Their University - Essay Example

I disagree that students “who intentionally plagiarize or commit should be expelled from their university or college”. The school’s tradition of expelling a student for violating its tradition is just harsh (Kinzie 159). That is, they should always cite their sources and as much as possible, they should paraphrase the sources. Plagiarism, or “the purloining of ideas or language from another source” is considered as literary theft (Silverman 152) and therefore a serious academic offense.

But to end a student’s schooling for a single offense I believe is just too much and a little extreme. For all we know, plagiarism may have been accidental or unintentional and this is not a remote possibility, especially on topics that are considered common knowledge. There is a chance that a point of view may have been already written by someone else and that may be construed as plagiarism albeit unintentional. And considering the University of Virginia’s Code of Honor, which is punishable by expulsion.

Also, the plagiarism may have been just a case of a simple overlook. Writing a long paper with a lot of sources has a danger of overlooking some sources and that simple overlook does not deserve to be punished by expulsion. Even if the student deliberately plagiarized, expulsion is still too much of a punishment. The appropriate response for plagiarism is to fail the student for that subject plus a stern warning. If it happens again whether intentionally or deliberately, the student will be suspended.

The third time is the only time that the student will have to be expelled. Giving a warning and graduated punishment to the student eliminates the possibility that the student may be punished for something accidental. Failing a student for the subject that he or she plagiarized is already a heavy punishment. But it is an appropriate punishment. Expelling a student excessively expulsion is tantamount to failing the student in all subjects including those that he or she did well. Worst, forfeiting would also mean forfeiting the credits that the student has already taken because he or she was dishonorably discharged from school.