Paging Lynn Hoppes ...

I condemn what he did. I just don't buy this "no shades of gray" stuff.

 

Junior high kids are told not to copy-and-paste from Wikipedia. There may be shades of gray, but the end result still should be a pink slip.

 

Well, I don't agree. Except as I said earlier, that this could be used as a last straw following previous transgressions. There are other punishments available for "lesser crimes," just as there are in the judicial system. It doesn't have to be "pink slip or nothing."

I've been plagiarized in what I consider a much worse way and I didn't call for anyone's head.

 

If journalists don't thnk plagiarism is a fireable offense, especially considering Hoppes' position and the amount of times he did it, they don't deserve to work in the business.

 

I'm guessing this is AutoCorrect at work, but it's wonderful.

 

So those defending (for lack of a better word) Hoppes in this, if a student is caught plagiarizing Wiki on a term paper should he get an F? If it's on his Masters thesis, should he still get the advanced degree?

 

Well ... Fireball Roberts was banned for trying to start a drivers union, so there is some precedent ...

 

Possibly.

But getting an "F" is not getting expelled.

Getting fired is getting expelled.

"Should the student be expelled?" is the proper question to continue the analogy.

 

In most journalism schools, multiple instances of plagiarism, even on a small scale, would lead to immediately expulsion.

 

The proper parallel would be if a student were caught plagiarizing Wikipedia 17 times in three months. It's hard to imagine them being allowed to continue. (In this parallel, said student is not in Bristol, Conn.)

 

It's not just Wikipedia, either. When Hoppes needs background info, he cuts and pastes. There's no instinct to attempt to rewrite. Case in point from last week:

http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/trending/post/_/id/4718/2-athletes-are-part-of-historys-picked-off

Hoppes: "A professional auctioneer and appraiser for Duane Merrill & Co., Ethan Merrill has conducted more than 300 auctions and appraisals. He pitched for the Boston Red Sox organization for four seasons before returning to his roots in the auction and appraisal business."

History.com's Merrill bio page on the show:
http://www.history.com/shows/picked-off/bios/ethan-and-todd-merrill
"A professional auctioneer and appraiser for Duane Merrill & Co., Ethan Merrill has conducted more than 300 auctions and appraisals," ... "pitched for the Boston Red Sox organization for four seasons before returning to his roots in the auction and appraisal business."

He cuts. He pastes.