
The Magna Carta Essay - edw519
http://collegemisery.blogspot.com/2011/12/henchminion-sends-in-tale-of-magna.html
======
philwelch
Keep in mind that the essay, as shown in the OP, is not what was finally
submitted by Aaron Kerzner to his class. This is:
[http://dimensionsofhistory.homestead.com/files/2008/londonpr...](http://dimensionsofhistory.homestead.com/files/2008/londonprojects/Kerzner_London.pdf)

For all of you claiming it's unfair to name this chump: he posted the damn
thing _with his name on it_ to the public internet. It's even more amusing
because what he turned in was even more amateurish than the original. It's
titled "Magna Carta's _Affect_ on the Class Structure in London", even though
it scarcely discusses the class structure in London; he misspells "dimensions"
in the header, even with the aid of a computer; it's white on crimson with
gratuitous visual aids; the typesetting changes erratically between double and
single spaced; finally, what few sentences of original writing there is to
stitch the thing together betrays not so much any actual thought so much as a
vague assertion that the plagiarized paper was somehow about the topic he was
assigned to write about. That it was even accepted as college level coursework
is a stain on the reputation not just of Aaron Kerzner, but of Drs. Michael
Swanson and Debra Mulligan (who, even put together, couldn't catch this clown)
and Roger Williams University.

By the way, this guy is in our industry: <http://www.linkedin.com/pub/aaron-
kerzner/1a/b96/3b0>. And he _majored_ in history.

~~~
ugh
I think what you are doing is wrong. You shouldn't judge a person based on a
single essay. Whatever you think about this particular essay, it's not
deserving of this witchhunt.

Edit: He should have failed the class and received a stern talking to. There
is a reason students are told not to quote from homework assignments of other
students. The bachelor thesis or master thesis is the first proper scientific
work any student does and if you plagarize in those an instant gameover is
expected and deserved. But class homework? Certainly not.

~~~
beloch
In an ideal world plagiarists would always be caught and always be failed. No
need for dire consequences. Just no rewards. In the real world, most
plagiarists are never punished even if they are caught. If you're a TA or prof
and you think you've been given plagiarized work, you need to have iron-clad
proof before you can even think about breathing the 'P' word. You can easily
wind up in as much trouble as the student if your proof isn't solid! You have
very little to go on if the student is at least smart enough to paraphrase and
avoid copy/pasting complete sentences. I've been given work I was 99% sure was
plagiarized but, since I couldn't prove it, I couldn't do anything more than
give it a low grade. Even when you can prove plagiarism has occurred, you're
in for a _lot_ of extra work. Usually it's easier to just talk to the student
and tell them to withdraw from your class.

Since plagiarists are so hard to catch and punish, it's important to make
examples of the ones who are caught. You can argue that this was "just class
homework", but students who plagiarize homework are the same ones who hire
ghost-writers to do a one-off term paper or thesis for them. If they can get
by without doing the unimportant work, odds are they won't learn how to do the
important work.

In this case, absolutely make this kid's life hell. It doesn't matter if he
only cheated that one time or if that's how he got his entire degree. What's
important is that other students see that plagiarism can come back to haunt
them long after they've gotten their degrees. The student's profs ought to be
made to sweat a little too. Missing or failing to punish plagiarism is
entirely forgivable for the reasons I have stated above. Giving a passing
grade to an obvious joke paper shows that they were negligent, and that's
another matter entirely.

~~~
ugh
Have empathy man. Empathy.

~~~
beloch
"Do you honestly believe you can judge the abilities and work ethic of this
guy based on one essay?"

His abilities, no. His work ethic, and ethics in general, yes.

I've been the hard-working student who sat back and watched other kids buy
their grades. It was truly disheartening. Students who cheat have zero respect
for the work of their peers and deserve no respect in return.

If you don't understand why taking credit for work you have not done is wrong,
then there's absolutely nothing more I can say to you.

~~~
ugh
It’s wrong and it’s pathetic and I never said otherwise.

But I do believe that everyone always deserves a second chance. Always.

~~~
Mz
I'm a pathetic bleeding heart, give the world a hug, make love not war, hippie
tree hugger. Second chances that aren't earned are often wasted. It's often a
cruelty, not a kindness, to be too easy on people who are going around fucking
up. It frequently fails to foster real change and just helps people stay
trapped.

Not saying one should always be a hardass. But defaulting to candyass isn't
any better. It's got to be a judgment call.

~~~
ugh
It’s a single essay. A single one. There is nothing that’s a judgment call
about this. A failed class. That’s it.

~~~
Mz
Sounds to me like you are making a judgment call based on "it's a single
essay" -- ie not a pattern of behavior. Frankly, I haven't read through the
whole thing, so you may know more than I do about this specific case. I am not
saying you are wrong in this instance. I am only suggesting that sweeping
statements like "someone _always_ deserves a second chance" should not go
unquestioned.

I am slow to condemn people and fairly quick to forgive and quick to have
compassion. But I am equally clear the minute you make it policy that
"everyone always gets a second chance" and then _advertise_ that fact, you
grow your problems rather than shrinking them. My personal policy is
"forgiveness is a gift but trust is earned". Somehow, people are quick to ID
me as a forgiving sort and then promptly conclude I'm a doormat and they can
shit all over me to their heart's content. Doormat? Maybe. Toilet? No thank
you. Take your personal crap elsewhere. So I am very clear that sweeping,
publicly advertised policies of "guaranteed second chance" cause more problems
than they solve and tend to create situations where you have no choice but to
be harder on people.

------
tokenadult
When I was in high school, in an English class unit on journalism, I learned
how the United Press caught a competing news organization (Hearst, as I
recall) faking stories about the eastern front in World War I. The United
Press reporters inserted details about a Russian government official named
Nelotsky in their news stories, and watched the statements about Nelotsky get
copied into Heart reports. There was just one problem with Hearst's
journalistic procedure: there wasn't any such Russian official. The name
"Nelotsky" came from reversing the spelling of the English word "stolen" and
adding a Russian-looking "ky" ending.

[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/files/files/246-dgb-uneasy-
legac...](http://www.law.uchicago.edu/files/files/246-dgb-uneasy-legacy.pdf)

[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30D16FF3B5B1...](http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30D16FF3B5B11738DDDAC0A94D9405B888DF1D3)

Similarly, in the 1990s I noticed that a popular page on my personal website
was being copied diligently by a college student for his personal website. I
inserted a fake entry, based on the Greek word for "steal." I also put a link
at that entry leading to the copyright notice page on my personal website,
which has a distinctive filename unique to my site. When the student copied
the page again, I was able to show the site administrator of his site that the
student had plainly violated the site user agreement at that academic
institution, which specifically required students not to plagiarize for their
postings on the university site.

I didn't do a lot of public outing of that student--but you had better believe
I still remember who he was. Teachers do well to teach students early and
often to use their own noggins and to do their own writing, giving proper
credit with correct citation form to sources they rely on. That's a better
education than just letting students copy whatever they happen to see, without
any analysis or thought at all.

------
xefer
'"Discipulus tuus hunc tractatum non scripsit." Loosely translated to: “No
taxation without representation.”'

It actually means: "Your student did not write this essay"

~~~
Semiapies
And it's amusing to google that phrase.

------
mekoka
Disclaimer: this is by no mean an endorsement of plagiarism in any of its
forms.

It is one thing to catch someone plagiarizing an already fake essay. In my
opinion though, exposing the cheater on the Internet by name is a punishment
with far more severe consequences, that does not exactly fit the crime.
Furthermore, we're not even assured that the student managed to get a passing
grade for his version of the paper. If he did, maybe his teacher was also part
of the problem.

This type of insensitive public lynching is so reminiscent of primary school.
Fortunately, we grow up, develop a conscience and learn to regret some of the
stupid acts we took, just because we could, that still reverberate in others
in present days.

Before blowing your horn, please make sure that you're actually righting a
wrong and are not causing more damage than you're repairing.

~~~
InclinedPlane
I can't imagine in what world plagiarism in college should be treated as some
private affair that should be kept secret.

College students are adults. Plagiarism in order to achieve a college degree
fraudulently is worthy of public attention.

Edit: note, "public attention" != "mob of ruthless assholes destroying
someone's life".

~~~
raganwald
There is a difference between:

1\. This alleged plagiarist’s college convicting him and publicizing the fact
that he has been judged a plagiarist by due process, and: 2\. A public
_accusation_ of plagiarism without process of any kind.

Public attention to a conviction is entirely different from public attention
to an accusation. I’m with you if you want convictions by due process of
plagiarism in college to be worthy of public attention. I am not in favour of
accusations like this to be brandished so enthusiastically.

~~~
InclinedPlane
Certainly there is a continuum in such matters. Some accusations deserve to be
kept out of the public eyes. But I don't think it's at all reasonable to
imagine that we can, or should, live in a world where all of our shames are
private and outed only through a laborious and secretive trial process.

The flaws of the "court of opinion" are many and worthy of concern, but they
shouldn't be used as an excuse to hide any mention of blatant wrong-doing.

This essay isn't a public denouncement, it's merely presenting information. Is
this a call to a lynching? _"Aaron Kerzner of Boston, I blow my nose at you."_

~~~
raganwald
Yes, I agree with you again. The author of this post is just one person. I am
not saying whether he should or shouldn’t name this person or link to a web
page that appears to be an essay submitted as part of course work.

I am only speaking to what _we_ should do in response, namely laugh
uproariously at what appears to be a finely crafted piece of work, and use it
as a catalysts for serious discussion about where our institutions of higher
education are failing, and eschew debating this named person’s crimes or
character. I think the essay would be just as thought-provoking if it left the
person’s name out, it would still pose difficult and important questions:

How does such an essay get accepted?

If someone cheats and gets a degree, how do they prosper in life? Should there
be a correlation between honest work on a degree and success? If not, why do
we care about the degree?

How much of submitting an essay is composing the essay, and how much is
mechanically rearranging existing ideas into a form that passes the
professorial filter?

Is there a Turing Test going on here? If a professor can’t tell the original
works apart from the plagiarized ones, is the test flawed, or is there really
no distinction between the good and bad students?

I really like the post, it provides much grist for my Olde Mill, which lies
just west of the Forest of Runnymede.

~~~
InclinedPlane
Indeed. For myself I prefer to be as open minded and forgiving of others as
possible.

In this particular case the evidence seems rather damning, but there can
always be plenty we aren't aware of, life is complicated. Personally I hope
the accused can recover from this, though in general I think that if more
college students realized that the shame of plagiarism could come back and
bite them in the ass later in life that would probably be a good thing.
College isn't play time. Nor should it be training wheels for adulthood.

------
cuu508
I remember writing a "trojan horse" essay in secondary school, but in my case
the target was my history teacher. I had noticed there's little correlation
between the effort I put into my assignments and the grades I got--they were
always good-ish. So one time I wrote an essay, not just with factual errors,
but filled with blatant nonsense. This passed with a good grade too, so it was
time to escalate the issue.

------
lukejduncan
It reminds me of Neal Stephenson's Anathem where the Internet (called
something else in the book) essentially became worthless because competing
search engines polluted it with misinformation to screw with each others
algorithms.

------
grandalf
The more I reflect on it, it seems that honeypots are the optimal way to
conduct any sort of intelligence gathering.

~~~
eru
I doubt the universal optimality, but various works contain fictitious
entries. Like trap streets or phantom settlements in maps, or ghosts in
telephone books.

~~~
grandalf
One might think that just b/c entrapment is forbidden by US law that honepots
are not used. All the law means is that the evidence directly gathered via
entrapment can't be used.

Unregulated things like Craigslist and Tor likely offer law enforcement and
intelligence agencies more "honeypot value" than they "cost" in terms of petty
illegal behavior.

~~~
philwelch
Besides, not all stings are entrapment, as many men discover upon soliciting
the wrong hooker.

------
theorique
"they held a climactic battle in the forest of Runnymede, near the village of
Bloor West"

Toronto joke?

------
mathattack
This whole exercise confirms that schools are rapidly becoming sorting
institutions rather than learning institutions.

------
pnmahoney
This appears to be the guy's self-description on LinkedIn. He loves software-
as-a-service:

Intense, energetic, and ambitious professional interested in staying as close
to the bleeding edge as I can in the realm of SaaS, social, and mobile
commerce.

I love fitness, tech, and good food.

found on <http://www.linkedin.com/pub/aaron-kerzner/1a/b96/3b0> (same school,
approx graduation date)

------
jobu
"Plagiarism Saves Time." <http://www.tanga.com/photos/570411/large>

------
tcarney
Forget the essay, he listed the course as "Hist203L:Dimentions of History
Lab"...

------
cafard
One thinks of Kipling's story "Dayspring Mishandled"...

------
drivebyacct2
In what college course does that paper pass, regardless of plagiarism? WOW.

~~~
impendia
The website for the course, linked in the article, see here

<http://dimensionsofhistory.homestead.com/2008L.html>

is written just as poorly.

~~~
kevinchen
Ironically, the class is taught by Professor Mulligan. Heh.

------
mkramlich
Plagiarism & propaganda: the two evil anti-patterns of the written word. Those
who don't understand the strengths, weaknesses and subtle tricks and traps of
human language and communication are doomed to be victimized by those who do.

------
tbsdy
It would be amusing to issue the college lecturer with a DMCA takedown order.

------
oconnor0
An interesting observation about this is that there's just enough "truth" in
the essay to make it a somewhat believable source: like John was
titled/surnamed Lackland, the Magna Carta was signed at Runnymede - assuming
the Wikipedia article isn't lying.

But that is, of course, different than plagiarism.

~~~
Turing_Machine
Unless you notice the part about him having been Duke of Hazzard. :-)

~~~
wnewman
Any assignment that expects footnotes probably ought to have graders who scan
the footnotes, and I find it particularly funny, in a grim and ghastly way,
that no one tripped over the jests concentrated there. Bollock & Maidenhead
_The Interminable History of English Law_ was mentioned in the original post.
And _From Magna Carta ..._ (i.e., 1215) _... to Domesday Book_ (i.e., 1085)?
Or D. Rumsfeld _Killing Will Make You Free_?

