I saw a girl texting during a lab practical. Should I tell on her?

[MajorTomServo]

Yeah, like the title says, during a lab practical today, I saw a girl texting, and I don't know if I should tell the professor or not. I mean, she may not have even been talking about the test, maybe she was just chatting with someone. But if she was cheating, that's another story. I mean, I work my ass off to study and get a good grade, why should she be given a good grade for nothing?

If I were to tell, I don't know how to do it. I'd want to anonymously, but my professor knows me pretty well, and I don't know if the other kids in my class are the type who would tell on someone.

What would you do in my shoes?

 

[BloatedGuppy]

SNITCHES GET STITCHES!

No, seriously though, why bother? She's only cheating herself, yadda yadda. There really isn't any benefit to you in ratting her out other than Schadenfreude, which is hardly a noble motivation.

 

[Substitute Troll]

In Sparta they encouraged children to steal, as long as they didn't get caught. If they did, severe punishment was issued. It's not the students' job to watch for cheaters, it's the teacher's. If you want him/her to make more of an effort to catch cheaters, say something along the lines of: "There are people who cheat on your tests, I won't say any names, but could you keep an eye out so that those of us who actually study don't get ripped off? Honestly, if she can cheat without being detected, fair game to her.

 

[Reginald]

In Sparta they encouraged children to steal, as long as they didn't get caught.

To be fair, look where that got them.

 

[EeveeElectro]

I wouldn't do anything. I don't know if it's possible to chat in a practical unless she was texting a friend for the answer.
The teacher should have noticed, and it's their fault for failing to realise it. You don't even know if she was texting, she could have been doing anything on her phone.

It just sounds a bit childish telling on someone when you don't even know for sure if she was cheating.
There's worse things to be doing in my opinion. And don't feel put out if you feel like she's cheating her way through the exam. People like that always get what's coming to them in the end.

 

[Batou667]

Like you said, you don't even know if she was cheating. And even if she was, how does that affect you in any way? Leave her be.

 

[Somnambulistic]

I'd go with the suggestion idea. just bring it to your teacher's attention that you've seen something, won't name names, but that you've seen something and they should keep an eye out so that no one gets ripped off.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

Don't worry about it, her texting regardless if she was cheating or not, doesn't effect you in anyway.
Worry about your own grades and don't concern yourself with hers.

 

[Substitute Troll]

In Sparta they encouraged children to steal, as long as they didn't get caught.

To be fair, look where that got them.

Yea, ever seen 300? That was some badass shit those SPARTANS did.

 

[manic_depressive13]

Telling on cheaters is quite petty and pathetic in my opinion.

To use an anecdote, I once saw a motorcyclist sidling through stationary cars at a red light so he could be at the front when the lights turned green. Someone actually deliberately cut him off with their car. I remembered being completely baffled and slightly disgusted by that person. What would they have lost if the motorcyclist made it to the head of the traffic? The way I see it, the motorcyclist is taking an increased risk by being on a bike rather than a car, so why would you deny them the benefits of the risk they are taking? Are you so bitter and hateful that you can't stand the idea of someone surpassing you, even if you don't lose anything at all by them doing so?

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

To use an anecdote, I once saw a motorcyclist sidling through stationary cars at a red light so he could be at the front when the lights turned green. Someone actually deliberately cut him off with their car. I remembered being completely baffled and slightly disgusted by that person. What would they have lost if the motorcyclist made it to the head of the traffic? The way I see it, the motorcyclist is taking an increased risk by being on a bike rather than a car, so why would you deny them the benefits of the risk they are taking? Are you so bitter and hateful that you can't stand the idea of someone surpassing you, even if you don't lose anything at all by them doing so?

In your example yeah that is pointless. In the example of standardized testing absolutely fucking yes you lose something by letting someone do well without them doing any study. The question is how important is the test? If its toward a grade to get into university or some such then yeah its important. Some candidate who worked hard might lose out to a cheater which disgusts me totally. And id like to think that in the event a cheater could possibly steal my hard earned place at uni someone would stop them. If its toward "teacher credit" or and end of year grade that goes toward nothing at all fuck it and let it slide.

The whole situation is different to the perfect hypothetical where you are aware someone is cheating though. You have NO idea what that text said. Honestly its a weigh up. if that test was SUPER IMPORTANT PEOPLE WILL LOSE FUTURES fuck that cheater and tell someone. If it doesn't matter or its only mildly important you lack evidence. If i were you id advise the teacher to keep a sharper eye out for cheating and not name names. Unless as i said the test is VERY important.

 

[manic_depressive13]

In your example yeah that is pointless. In the example of standardized testing absolutely fucking yes you lose something by letting someone do well without them doing any study. The question is how important is the test? If its toward a grade to get into university or some such then yeah its important. Some candidate who worked hard might lose out to a cheater which disgusts me totally. And id like to think that in the event a cheater could possibly steal my hard earned place at uni someone would stop them. If its toward "teacher credit" or and end of year grade that goes toward nothing at all fuck it and let it slide.

The whole situation is different to the perfect hypothetical where you are aware someone is cheating though. You have NO idea what that text said. Honestly its a weigh up. if that test was SUPER IMPORTANT PEOPLE WILL LOSE FUTURES fuck that cheater and tell someone. If it doesn't matter or its only mildly important you lack evidence. If i were you id advise the teacher to keep a sharper eye out for cheating and not name names. Unless as i said the test is VERY important.

Not really. If the cheater beats you but you still do well by your own merit, chances are you will still get a place at university. If you rat out the cheater, depending on school policy, they could get zero or even expelled, and you could completely destroy their chances at getting a higher education. At my high school accusations of cheating were taken really seriously. I just can't understand why anyone would want to do that to another person. If you had a magical list of everyone who cheated on the exam, telling on them might make a difference to your final ranking, but is it worth potentially destroying someone's chances at success because their (maybe) cheating might (maybe) have placed them above you? It's only one person. Don't tell and nothing really happens. Tell and you could ruin someone.

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

Not really. If the cheater beats you but you still do well by your own merit, chances are you will still get a place at university. If you rat out the cheater, depending on school policy, they could get zero or even expelled, and you could completely destroy their chances at getting a higher education. At my high school accusations of cheating were taken really seriously. I just can't understand why anyone would want to do that to another person. If you had a magical list of everyone who cheated on the exam, telling on them might make a difference to your final ranking, but is it worth potentially destroying someone's chances at success because their (maybe) cheating might (maybe) have placed them above you? It's only one person. Don't tell and nothing really happens. Tell and you could ruin someone.

The cheater obviously thinks they are better than you. That they deserve what you have but easier. Faster. Without the hard work you put in. I find it hard to sympathize with that kind of arrogance. Also since im pursuing a medical career the idea people would cheat into and through it is beyond abhorrent to me. You NEED to be good honestly without cheating.

Its not about them being above ME. Its about them being above someone else who wasnt arrogant enough to think they deserved to get things for free when others have to work. I sympathise with him over the cheater since he is honest, id rather punish the cheater a lot than the innocent person a little by letting the cheater win. Honestly your issue seems to be that cheaters are punished too harshly. What would you do if an examiner caught someone cheating? What punishment is appropriate? That person knows they can be ruined and still thought it was worth trying to cheat the system and unfairly get ahead in life. My inner sense of fairness is offended by that. I HATE cheaters. A lot. Its a special sort of arrogant dick that thinks they deserve the easy road to a hard place.

This only applies if the situation is make or break competetive. My friend who applied for medicine missed her grade by ONE mark in a single subject. No remarks allowed for medicine. If the course was 1 student short due to failures they would have taken her. She deserved it. She worked her ass off. If i knew someone who cheated made that course and didnt leave room for her id be outraged. It DOES come down to close things sometimes. And i cant morally let myself say "Injustice is only ok if it happens occasionally". As long as the cheater can hypothetically hurt someone for ever by cheating fuck them. If it couldnt possibly hurt anyone i wouldnt bother. But if it could id say screw them. They have done nothing to earn any kind of sympathy.

This also only applies for a case of clear cut 100% known cheating. Possible cases are far trickier and honestly would require more context and investigation.

 

[manic_depressive13]

The cheater obviously thinks they are better than you. That they deserve what you have but easier. Faster. Without the hard work you put in.

Maybe they are desperate, have low self esteem and don't work well under the pressure of exam conditions? How can you assume that everyone who cheats is the same? Some cheaters might do it because they are arrogant but others might be incredibly insecure. My inner sense of fairness says not to project unfairly onto people I don't really know and to give people the benefit of the doubt. I, for one, could never deliberately sabotage someone by ratting them out, even if I didn't like them personally. I guess that the harm done by cheating is abstract and hard to quantify. Even if they snuck in some notes, how much did that really benefit them? Three marks? Five? Ten? Surely not a whole paper's worth. Maybe they wouldn't have passed without the notes, maybe they would. Is it worth the risk? Is that single, desperate act of glancing at some notes they snuck in worth ratting them out and having them booted from a course which, as far as you know, they would still have passed even without a cheat sheet? The benefit of the cheating is questionable but the consequence is certain. That's the difference for me, and I wouldn't be able to handle it on my conscience if I were the one who ratted them out.

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

Maybe they are desperate, have low self esteem and don't work well under the pressure of exam conditions? How can you assume that everyone who cheats is the same? Some cheaters might do it because they are arrogant but others might be incredibly insecure. My inner sense of fairness says not to project unfairly onto people I don't really know and to give people the benefit of the doubt. I, for one, could never deliberately sabotage someone by ratting them out, even if I didn't like them personally. I guess that the harm done by cheating is abstract and hard to quantify. Even if they snuck in some notes, how much did that really benefit them? Three marks? Five? Ten? Surely not a whole paper's worth. Maybe they wouldn't have passed without the notes, maybe they would. Is it worth the risk? Is that single, desperate act of glancing at some notes they snuck in worth ratting them out and having them booted from a course which, as far as you know, they would still have passed even without a cheat sheet? The benefit of the cheating is questionable but the consequence is certain. That's the difference for me, and I wouldn't be able to handle it on my conscience if I were the one who ratted them out.

Those are reasons why one might resort to cheating but it still cuts down to this: If youre no good at exams youre no good at exams. Thats the breaks. You dont deserve an unfair advantage over everyone else just because youre unable to be good at something you can learn with practice. There is no possible motivation for cheating that doesnt come back to "I deserve to do better than my skill allows but everyone else deserves to do as well as their skill allows. Im special". Its the same reason i hate pirates. If you apply your morality to everyone and it breaks society guess what? Your morality sucks. If everyone pirated no large scale media would be created and no money would enter the industry. If everyone cheated all exams no one would be skilled enough to do anything and we would have a totally unfair system. Obviously this is an abstract extreme but i cant condone any kind of cheating for that reason, if you cant apply your mentality to everyone and still call it fair your mentality is inherently unfair.

If we dont punish cheaters, if we create an environment where we say "If you cheat we will assume you had every right to do so" then we basically punish people for being honest. And thats total bullshit. Cheaters understand the consequences, have no motive like starvation (theft) or in the moment rage(murder) to even begin to justify their infraction. Its an unjustifiable thing.

I agree in cases the punishment is brutal. But thats the breaks. They are well aware of the punishment. Well aware. And no justification can be given to make it ok. Reasons can be given why you wanted to do it but it still revolves around an "I deserve an advantage no one else deserves" mentality. Id feel better ratting out a cheater in a serious circumstance than letting them get away with it and corrupting the system. People who dont report actual crimes like theft, assault and murder to attempt to save the perp while screwing future victims sicken me. If our society cant even be assed to self police the tiniest bit you have no right to complain if it bites you in the ass because someone else didnt. If a cheater ever bests you and you know someone could have stopped it you have no right to complain. You would happily let them screw over someone else so theres no point being upset someone let them screw you over.

Id sell out best friends and family if they did something serious enough in a heartbeat. Its duty over feelings when it comes to serious exams and crime in general. I couldnt handle the innate hypocracy in wanting people to remove the cheaters who might screw me but not removing the cheaters which might screw them. You cant expect others to help you in a way you refuse to help them.

If its traffic lights and grade 4 tests screw it they are unimportant because no one can possibly be screwed over in the long term.

 

[manic_depressive13]

-snip-

Okay, that's bullshit. I can't speak for science and medicine for I am just a lowly Arts student, but the way exams are conducted here is fucking idiotic. For English you need to write three seperate essays on three seperate texts, and you are not allowed to take the texts in with you. You would never, ever have to work under such conditions in real life. No one in their right mind would attempt to write a critical analysis without the text in front of them, so what are you meant to prove by doing it all on the spot during an exam? How good your memory is? They're certainly not testing understanding of the text. In fact, you are encouraged to memorise pre-written essays and simply try to mould them to fit the question on the day. That is retarded. I have never cheated but I wouldn't blame anyone who did.

Piracy can't break society so that argument is invalid.

I believe desperation is the driving force of most cheaters and I do think that extenuates the crime.

Depending on the theft, I might not report it. If someone steals $50 worth of groceries from a massive conglomerate that makes billions in profits, why would I want to get them arrested? If that is your morality I think you're sick.

During my HSC exam I know for a fact that two people cheated. One of them ended up coming second in the grade. I didn't like her. Regardless, I didn't rat them out, so please don't accuse me of hypocrisy because you think I've not been in such a situation myself.

It's duty that drives you, is it? Does your sense of duty always override your sense of decency? I wouldn't want anyone to remove cheaters who might screw me. I'm not so hateful and mindlessly competetive that I would sink to their level just to get a slight advantage. Their competetiveness and selfishness is what drives them to cheat, and it is selfish competetiveness that drives people to tell. I don't want to participate in such a system. If I get fucked over because I don't want to fuck someone over, so be it. I'm clearly too sentimental to exist in this world.

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

SNIP

Ok lets start going through this.

Your argument is that since the system is inherently fucked and unfair by being too obscure/hard/random that its ok to then ignore or abuse said system? Id say not. At least at its worst its inherently fucked and unfair for everyone. Sure its HARD but its meant to be! Its equally hard for everyone! And even if it IS unfair the solution isnt to boost yourself above others to achieve fairness through unfairness. Ignoring an unjust law doesnt do as much to fix the broken system as working hard to change it. It fixes it for you to the detriment of others since you replaced one unfairness with another unfairness.

My piracy example wasnt meant to say i thought it would "Break society" i worded that extremely poorly. My point was to highlight how your very existence is hypocracy if youre totally dependent on others to disagree with you. To clarify i mean that a pirate depends utterly on other people to not pirate in order to enjoy his life as a pirate. His method of obtaining goods doesnt work at all without a host of people willing to fund the projects he takes for free. In the same way a cheater is totally dependent on others not being like them because cheating then wouldn't give them an edge if everyone did it. If you wake up every day and say "i hope for my sake no one else has a morality like mine, my life would be worse if they did" thats fairly sad. I wouldnt want to be such a person. I cant imagine how people deal with that. In general, people, including cheaters, wouldnt hire or be treated by doctors or professionals who admitted to cheating to get qualifications. Which is another layer of hypocracy if said cheater feels this way which they likely do.

Then call me sick (partially). I dont think its right to steal from that grocery but id likely reprimand them in person rather than report it unless the person was obviously starving to death. If you see steal from that grocery and say "Its morally right to steal from that grocery" and then run a grocery youre morally obligated to not prosecute or deter any thieves who steal under 50 pounds worth of groceries or again be a hypocrite because youve already justified stealing from rich groceries. If you think its right then how can you stop others from doing it to you? If you imagine youre the wronged party and say "Would i do nothing to prevent this?" and the answer is no then its likely you should do something. I wouldnt prosecute a starving child for stealing food from my stall, id likely offer him a little for free if i could spare it. I would prosecute a rich person. As such id report the latter but not the former. Desperation in those who dont need what they desire is greed. Even if they are starving why not just ask for some food, maybe from you specifically? Why dont we make systems to prevent such desperation from leading to crime? Anything is better than resorting to crime.

What if them cheating ruined you. Took away your dream to get somewhere you wanted to get just on the basis they felt they deserved it more than you did despite you being better suited for it? Its easy to say these things when the outcome has no effect on you really. You havnt been in a situation like that because the end result didnt hurt you. If youd lost a university place or an important course id struggle to understand why you WOULDNT rectify the situation. If you would let that slide and accept a dream being crushed by said cheater because you feel they earned it above you with their cheating i honestly admire such jesus like qualities.

Its duty and sentimentalism for me. Dont try and play me as the hard line cynic who demands justice over all else. I just emote more with the wronged party than i do with the guilty one. It cant be mindless competitiveness driving me to report someone for cheating if they arent competing with me directly but instead to protect others from the fate. Its compassion for the person they could wrong. Its the idea that those who play by the rules and embrace the challenge deserve it far more than those who decide they shouldnt have to. On the same basis how is it selfish to want to protect others interests too? Id feel too bad imagining the person being disappointed and ousted by a cheater to let anyone get away with it. My friends face on results day was bad enough when she missed that mark. If i knew someone had wrongly done that to her when they could have stopped them id ask only "Why didnt you?" And since i cant answer that question honestly i'm obligated to report it.

Desperation is not a good motive that extenuates crimes when the desperation is basically greed. People NEED food so in the case of your grocers that makes sense (unless the person stealing obviously has enough). People NEED water and shelter. People dont NEED grades to survive. The desperation for that grade is a basically greed for it, which is admirable when expressed with hard work and determination but definitely not a good quality when they cheat to obtain it. And stopping that from happening doesnt make you greedy anymore than imprisoning a criminal against their will for imprisoning someone else against their will makes the justice system criminal.

You dont need to be cynical to see that fairness is important. You can just be compassionate for those potentially wronged and understand a system that rewards cheaters is ultimately self destructive. And by not reporting cheaters youre helping that self destructive system. It isnt sinking to a criminals level to capture and punish a criminal, unless youre against the justice system as a whole. By the same logic i dont find telling on cheats even nearly as bad as actually cheating. The world would be a better place for everyone if we all looked out for each others interests against those who feel like they shouldnt have to work as hard as we do or play by the rules we as a society agreed to play by.

 

[Friendly Lich]

I say report her, its not fair what she is doing and one day she may competing with you in the job market.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

I'd say ignore it. If it's just for a good grade in the class, it's not directly affecting you at all, telling on her would just be incredibly petty and self-righteous.

SNIP

Ok lets start going through this.

Your argument is that since the system is inherently fucked and unfair by being too obscure/hard/random that its ok to then ignore or abuse said system? Id say not. At least at its worst its inherently fucked and unfair for everyone. Sure its HARD but its meant to be! Its equally hard for everyone! And even if it IS unfair the solution isnt to boost yourself above others to achieve fairness through unfairness. Ignoring an unjust law doesnt do as much to fix the broken system as working hard to change it. It fixes it for you to the detriment of others since you replaced one unfairness with another unfairness.

My piracy example wasnt meant to say i thought it would "Break society" i worded that extremely poorly. My point was to highlight how your very existence is hypocracy if youre totally dependent on others to disagree with you. To clarify i mean that a pirate depends utterly on other people to not pirate in order to enjoy his life as a pirate. His method of obtaining goods doesnt work at all without a host of people willing to fund the projects he takes for free. In the same way a cheater is totally dependent on others not being like them because cheating then wouldn't give them an edge if everyone did it. If you wake up every day and say "i hope for my sake no one else has a morality like mine, my life would be worse if they did" thats fairly sad. I wouldnt want to be such a person. I cant imagine how people deal with that. In general, people, including cheaters, wouldnt hire or be treated by doctors or professionals who admitted to cheating to get qualifications. Which is another layer of hypocracy if said cheater feels this way which they likely do.

Then call me sick (partially). I dont think its right to steal from that grocery but id likely reprimand them in person rather than report it unless the person was obviously starving to death. If you see steal from that grocery and say "Its morally right to steal from that grocery" and then run a grocery youre morally obligated to not prosecute or deter any thieves who steal under 50 pounds worth of groceries or again be a hypocrite because youve already justified stealing from rich groceries. If you think its right then how can you stop others from doing it to you? If you imagine youre the wronged party and say "Would i do nothing to prevent this?" and the answer is no then its likely you should do something. I wouldnt prosecute a starving child for stealing food from my stall, id likely offer him a little for free if i could spare it. I would prosecute a rich person. As such id report the latter but not the former. Desperation in those who dont need what they desire is greed. Even if they are starving why not just ask for some food, maybe from you specifically? Why dont we make systems to prevent such desperation from leading to crime? Anything is better than resorting to crime.

What if them cheating ruined you. Took away your dream to get somewhere you wanted to get just on the basis they felt they deserved it more than you did despite you being better suited for it? Its easy to say these things when the outcome has no effect on you really. You havnt been in a situation like that because the end result didnt hurt you. If youd lost a university place or an important course id struggle to understand why you WOULDNT rectify the situation. If you would let that slide and accept a dream being crushed by said cheater because you feel they earned it above you with their cheating i honestly admire such jesus like qualities.

Its duty and sentimentalism for me. Dont try and play me as the hard line cynic who demands justice over all else. I just emote more with the wronged party than i do with the guilty one. It cant be mindless competitiveness driving me to report someone for cheating if they arent competing with me directly but instead to protect others from the fate. Its compassion for the person they could wrong. Its the idea that those who play by the rules and embrace the challenge deserve it far more than those who decide they shouldnt have to. On the same basis how is it selfish to want to protect others interests too? Id feel too bad imagining the person being disappointed and ousted by a cheater to let anyone get away with it. My friends face on results day was bad enough when she missed that mark. If i knew someone had wrongly done that to her when they could have stopped them id ask only "Why didnt you?" And since i cant answer that question honestly i'm obligated to report it.

Desperation is not a good motive that extenuates crimes when the desperation is basically greed. People NEED food so in the case of your grocers that makes sense (unless the person stealing obviously has enough). People NEED water and shelter. People dont NEED grades to survive. The desperation for that grade is a basically greed for it, which is admirable when expressed with hard work and determination but definitely not a good quality when they cheat to obtain it. And stopping that from happening doesnt make you greedy anymore than imprisoning a criminal against their will for imprisoning someone else against their will makes the justice system criminal.

You dont need to be cynical to see that fairness is important. You can just be compassionate for those potentially wronged and understand a system that rewards cheaters is ultimately self destructive. And by not reporting cheaters youre helping that self destructive system. It isnt sinking to a criminals level to capture and punish a criminal, unless youre against the justice system as a whole. By the same logic i dont find telling on cheats even nearly as bad as actually cheating. The world would be a better place for everyone if we all looked out for each others interests against those who feel like they shouldnt have to work as hard as we do or play by the rules we as a society agreed to play by.

Jesus, I hope you never get a hold of the Death Note.