Honesty may be one of the most valued characteristics in society, especially for students as they seek to find their ideal career path.
We as humans struggle to be honest on a daily basis. We are dishonest when we park in a handicap spot when we are not actually handicapped or by lying in a court of law after we swore we wouldn’t. Oftentimes, the easiest path to take is the one that begins with a dishonest step. It becomes harder for someone to return to an honest lifestyle with each step taken down that dishonest path.
Dixie State University is a stepping stone for us students as we begin adulthood. In each class, we are required to meet a list of obligations assigned to us by our professors. Those tasks we are given can range from attendance to the final exam. Each obligation requires us to be honest as we complete what we claim to be our own work.
Unfortunately, not every student is honest with each and every assignment. Some go as far as claiming the works of others to be their own. We know this to be plagiarism. It is not only plagiarism some students struggle with but cheating too. These two dishonest choices can result in severe consequences for students. I know a professor who would flunk them right out of class.
Randal Chase, a professor in the communications studies department, said he feels bad for students who resort to cheating and plagiarizing others’ work. He said he has seen more plagiarizing in the last two years than in his previous nine years here at DSU. As a result, Chase has had to flunk five students in those two years for plagiarizing and cheating in his classroom.
Being dishonest not only affects us in school but can affect our lives after college. It is applicable to every facet of our lives. I have seen how dishonesty can ruin personal relationships. It can land individuals in prison because of their dishonest actions. The list of examples are endless.
Alejandra Ramos, a junior finance major from St. George, said, “We’re building [those] habits now, and [they] are going to show up later in our careers.”
If we value honesty, our lives will be that much easier. We won’t have to worry about always having a cover story for our dishonesty, and people will have a greater trust in us as individuals. We will take our work ethic and personal values into the workplace, and employers will see what we have to offer. By being honest, it could make all the difference when applying for a job.
“People who [are honest] are the successful ones,” Chase said. “Those are the ones who get the good grades and who, when they graduate, are valuable, valuable employees.”
If students are dishonest and don’t care about school, their journey will be much harder. They limit their ability to be able to progress in knowledge, because they are not taking the steps required to learn. They fail to pay attention in class and do their own work. At the end of the day, they are ultimately dishonest to themselves.
Chase said “those who sit there and vegetate” will be penalized, because they aren’t being honest in their work. Cheating and plagiarizing are acts of laziness. People can never know of their true potential if they are referring to such tactics.
Alex King, a sophomore integrated studies major from Houston, said, “Later in life with cheating and plagiarizing, [if you] never come up with any of your own stuff, your horizon and how you see everything is very small and your creativity is stifled.”
You truly are limiting yourself as an individual if you choose to be dishonest. By doing this, you lose your credibility not only in school but in real life. We need to all strive to be honest in everything we do, especially in school.