Ethics

     From taking on many leadership positions throughout my academic career, I have had to attend many ethics seminars. In these seminars, we were taught what is considered acceptable in academics.  Furthermore, we watched videos on plagiarism where it showed taking the work of someone else is stealing. It's not the type of stealing where you run off with an old lady's purse, but it's the stealing of intellectual property. This intellectual property needs to be resepected as an individual's work. If I said that I was the person who figured out E=MC^2, everyone would know I was lying. However, sometimes stealing isn't so obvious and that's where your moral compass comes in.
       
     Although the university has advisable rules, I believe in doing the right thing. Rules are made so that it leads individuals into doing the right thing. This past year, I worked very hard coding a robot where we interfaced Matlab and Lego technology.  It took me at least 80 hours of pure brain power to make the robot move like I wanted it to. In the end, my partner wanted to copy "my code" because it was just computer stuff and no one would have to know. This infuriated me. I spent so much time perfecting the robot, making sure it didn't glitch and that it moved smoothly. Then, this guy, who didn't put in any work at all, decides that he wants to put his name on my work. I said no. Although it was a team project, he never showed up to help. For this reason, the code was my work and not his. If he put his name on this assignment, he'd be stealing my work.

     I see this English class very much like I did my Engineering 141 class. Although I struggle with English and know it's not my "strong suit", I will do my very best to give my best effort. I couldn't forgive myself if I stole what someone else wrote. Not only would I fail this class, which I need for scholarships, I would disappoint my family, and ultimately myself. I feel a sense of accomplishment in doing my own work. So, I, Mary O'Kelly, promise you, Professor Butts, that I won't plagiarize. However, I can't promise you that I'll you'll receive minimal amounts of emails. I'll probably email you to clarify just about everything, which I'd rather do than plagiarize!