Valedictorian caught cheating

amoLucia · May 23, 2015

This...or go to graduation and everyone turns their back on her when she speaks....*evil laugh*

This is my idea too. Everybody should stand, BOO loudly and turn their backs en masse.

Why should the decent students be deprived of their achieving recognition.

Are you absolutely 110% sure there was cheating??? I find it hard that the top administrative academians would jeopardize their school reputation to not address cheating and 'float along' the cheater.

amoLucia · May 23, 2015

Today we had a class meet and administration told us they are investigating the situation and will let us know on Tuesday if this student will be valedictorian or not she continued to say we are haters and laugh at us. She is really childish

Please - keep us all updated on the outcome.

brandiep1982 · May 24, 2015

This situation would piss me off if I were in the OP place but I think it is important to take the high road here and act with a little grace. Don't mess with your special day by holding on to a grudge and acting maliciously; turning your backs on her or walking out is really immature. Make the day about celebration and not a vendetta. Let it go! That being said, the cheater should also act with a little grace and step down but she obviously likes to make poor choices and is selfish. We all have to live with our choices; the good and the bad.

That's why I think having their own ceremony would be great. They would still get their special day, and they won't be acting maliciously. They would be acting out of respect for themselves and their own class. Standing together for what is right. That would be a very respectable way to finish it out, in my opinion

jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B · May 24, 2015

so my graduating class just found out who will be representing our class as valedictorian and it's a student that was caught cheating on an exam. she was caught on camera and later admitted to the cheating. I feel someone like this should not represent our school or class as a valedictorian. It sets a bad example that cheating will be tolerated. there are many students that sacrifice so much for nursing and this bothers me that someone like this would be honored. she was caught once cheating but there could be other times she cheated and didnt get caught. I addressed this issue with administration. Please give me your opinion about this. Am I over thinking this?

YIKES!! I am so sorry that this happened to you and the rest of the class!! If this person was of even remote character, he/she would step aside and decline to give the speech, or be called the Valedictorian of the class.

Maybe you can suggest to your teacher that in light of what has occurred, that you all can choose/vote on a graduation speaker instead?

consumer · May 24, 2015

Hello,

I am a client, and just noticed this discussion. I am hoping that she loses her place at the podium, but more than that-I don't ever want to have someone like that providing care for me, or my loved ones. I hope it gets straightened out!

imintrouble, BSN, RN · May 24, 2015

I don't like cheaters. I don't like that they usually get ahead and do well. But that's reality.

Most of your class won't remember who the valedictorian was 10 years from now. If they do remember they'll understand that school is not an indicator of what kind of nurse you'll be. It's like bragging about getting all As. Or passing in 75 questions. Once you get your first job you're all the same and none of that matters.

I understand the outrage, I just wouldn't waste a lot of time letting it sour my celebration.

I like the suggestion of booing when her name is announced, but suggest something less overt be done instead. Like no clapping. Or ignoring her.

Dogen · May 24, 2015

I'm going to be among the dissenters. I'm also surprised she wasn't kicked out. It sucks that she's getting rewarded. All of that is true.

On the other hand, I'm just a few years out from graduation and I can't even tell you who our valedictorian was. Maybe it's just me. Maybe graduation didn't mean as much to me as it should have (I cared a lot more about the NCLEX, when it got real). But if it were me, I'd just not invite her to the after party and then forget you ever knew her. Her being valedictorian won't get her a job (remember, no one cares what your GPA was, either), and holding onto negative feelings has a real cost to you. Not that you should let it go, but you also don't need to let it ruin anything. Just talk through the whole speech or something. :)

No Stars In My Eyes · May 24, 2015

I'd go to graduation just to see what happens!

I think not applauding her is a good idea; chatting amongst yourselves during her speech. I'm not much on "BOO"-ing, but I'm not above a really nice, loud group hissing.

MedChica · May 24, 2015

How is she still valedictorian? Wouldnt that bring her entire gpa into question? Surprised thay she didnt get thrown out?

Class ahead of mine, there was a chwating scandal.

They kicked half of the class out.

They could just ship my diploma, pin and genie lamp (UPS, please) to the house. I wldnt go to the pinning or graduation. ...the hell with that school.

Id be damned before Id stand up there looking crazy, listening to a known cheater bs her way through a speech about "hard work".

MatrixRn · May 24, 2015

Interesting... as I understand your comment... just because she made such good grades, then it is impossible that she was cheating regularly? That isn't a logical argument. You claim that it is "impossible" for the student to be cheating on everything. I don't think she cheated on everything, but it sure is likely she has cheated more than once. And whether she did it once or five or fifteen times, she not only violated nursing ethics, but she also failed to prepare for at least one exam just to hang on to her precious GPA. Then she was awarded a whole extra week to study.
IF the student was having some sort of extreme issue or drama, she should have approached the professors for advice or guidance. The answer should NEVER be cheat. If she had chosen an ethical path, I would say, sure, help her out. Give her some assistance. But she didn't. She chose to CHEAT. She should have gotten a zero on at least that test which would have lowered her GPA significantly.
What if she had been a C student? You say because she is an A student she should get the benefit of the doubt. So what if she wasn't? Then she shouldn't get the benefit of the doubt? No. Some programs kick you completely out for cheating (as they should).
Also, what about that person with the second highest GPA who didn't cheat? What if they had chosen to? Maybe their GPA would have been the highest... and seeing how a cheater was treated... maybe they should have... see the issues raised by making a cheater valedictorian?

No I meant what I said, If someone has a track record of A's in their courses, where is the incentive to cheat? And it really would be beyond belief for someone to cheat in everyone of their classes and get away with it.

As to her choice to cheat, yes that was hers, while yes it was the school's choice as to how to handle it. They could have given her a zero for the test but that is not what the school chose to do.

As to the comment about the C student, I address that as well. I stated the A or C student should both be given the benefit of the doubt. And again it really is up to the program as to what they decide the appropriate punishment is for cheating. Yes in my program cheating was immediate dismissal, but maybe not so in this one.

I am not saying what she did was right...just looking at it from the prof point of view.

No Stars In My Eyes · May 24, 2015

The incentive to cheat might be that she couldn't stand receiving anything LESS than an "A" and for this particular test she wasn't certain of getting it.

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · May 24, 2015

I'm really interested to see how this turns out. If she does end up speaking, turning your backs to her speech is indeed a proper statement to protest it. Cheaters are cheaters, they will find ways to look successful at any cost. Odds are that she will fail the NCLEX ... no way to cheat there!

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