Students Apparently Copied Honor Code

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Their goal was an honor code that discouraged cheating and plagiarizing. However, the wording in a draft by students at the University of Texas at San Antonio appears to match another school's code - without proper attribution.
The student currently in charge of the honor code project said it was an oversight, but cheating experts say it illustrates a sloppiness among Internet-era students who don't know how to cite sources properly and think of their computers as cut-and-paste machines. "That's the consequence of the Internet and the availability of things," said Daniel Wueste, director of the Rutland Institute for Ethics at Clemson University. "It doesn't feel like what would be in a book. You Google it and here it comes." Student Akshay Thusu said that when he took over the project a month ago he inherited a draft by earlier project participants, including a group of students who attended a conference five years ago put on by The Center for Academic Integrity at Clemson. Materials from the conference, which are used by many universities, were probably the main source of UTSA's proposed code, Thusu said. That's why parts of the Texas draft match word-for-word the online version of Brigham Young University's code.
BYU credited the Center for Academic Integrity, but the San Antonio draft doesn't.
That will change, said Thusu, who plans to include proper citation and attribution when the draft is submitted to the faculty senate. "We don't want to have an honor code that is stolen," Thusu said.
Obviously you do have a code that is stole this is why there is an article about it. I find this so interesting because every college in today's world takes plagiarism rather seriously and have so many rules and regulations on it. However I think it is hysterical that a University was caught plagiarizing the code for plagiarizing from another school. I understand that the Internet makes it so easy for people to just copy and paste words and make them as their own but I would think that a college writing about plagiarism would at least re-word the items they copied and pasted, I mean everyone has copied and pasted something into a paper but those who do are usually smart enough to change the words around so that it is not word for word because than some one could simply copy and paste phrase in Google and presto the plagiarism plan is foiled and your University looks like a complete joke. If I were a student here I would completely make a whole extravaganza out of this. I would take the mission statement and other University code and just try to find a bunch of similarities and post them all over and underneath I would write plagiarism is bad unless your in charge or at least good at it =]

Man Writes Toilet Paper Check for Bill

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (March 27) - An upstate New York man embroiled in a dispute over his water bill is not being allowed to pay off his debt with a check written on toilet paper. Ron Borgna tried to settle his $2,509.66 bill with a check written on floral print, two-ply toilet paper Wednesday. The disagreement began in September 2006 when Borgna received a $422.90 water bill. Borgna claims he was overbilled. With additional charges, penalties and late fees that bill has grown. Binghamton city officials refused to accept the check. After a short argument, Borgna was escorted out of the building.
Borgna says he is appealing the judgment against him in small claims court.
This is an outrageous article that I wanted to share with everyone. Fine I understand the man did not want to pay the bill because he felt he was over charged but, for him to write it on toilet paper and cause a whole seen for the company not accepting the payment is ridiculous. First off how is toilet paper in any one's mind suitable for a check payment, I mean come on there are certain numbers on checks linking it with the bank that contains the money needing to be paid. I have no idea what this man was thinking when he decided to write a check on a piece of Charmin but the nerve of him to then fight with the company because they will not except it, who is a check on a piece of paper supposed to pay the Quilted Northern ladies? If I was the water company I would turn this man's water off for the mear fact that he is incompetent and send a letter on a piece of toilet paper notifying him that the water will be turned off.

Alaska Couple Married in Swimming Pool

NIKISKI, Alaska (AP) - The cake was in the shape of a pool and the walk down the aisle was replaced by a zip down a water slide as Mark Confer and Joanne Wainwright took the plunge into marriage - literally. The two were married Saturday in a swimming pool. Instead of jumping in with both feet, they came whooshing around and down the pool's 136-foot slide. The couple then bowed their heads while Scott Coffman, senior pastor at College Heights Baptist Church, blessed their marriage. Confer and Wainwright are dedicated to physical fitness. Confer's passion is skiing, while Wainwright has swum competitively and coached high school swim teams most of her life. "I always would tell my students if I ever got married in Alaska I was going to get married at the Nikiski pool," Wainwright said. According to its Web site, the enclosed, heated pool is open year-round and offers "excellent views of the surrounding terrain and wildlife." On top of their pool-shaped wedding cake, the couple placed a tiny bride and groom coiled on the diving board, ready to dive in.
This has to be the cutest wedding idea I have ever heard of, the whole concept is great in my eyes. The fact that the went down a water slide as their aisle and their cake was shaped like a pool is such a good idea. Most weddings are the standard church wedding with the reception following, I think this fun-filled wedding is absolutely unique and romantic. They must of had a beautiful view of the landscape of Alaska while they were making this commitment of love. The fact that the two of them agreed on such an outrageous wedding really shows me that they truly do love one another and respect each others free spirit.

Race in Heels Trips Man on Workers Comp

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Prosecutors say a video shows a Connecticut correction officer running a 40-yard-dash in women's clothing and high heels - at a time he had claimed he was too injured to work. Garrett A. Dalton of Naugatuck has been charged with workers compensation fraud. He's accused of taking part in a radio station's contest for Hannah Montana concert tickets last year. Not only did he have to dress in drag but he had to carry an egg on a spoon. Authorities were alerted after someone saw Dalton in a TV news report. Prosecutors say the 41-year-old collected more than $5,000 in workers' compensation after he reported a work-related injury in June. Court documents do not list an attorney for Dalton, and his phone number is unlisted. And no, he didn't win the contest.
I do not know how the law works against something like workers compensation fraud however I think a suitable punishment for this man would be to simply pay back whatever fraudulent money he may have made. I mean for him to get caught in this scandal while dressed in drag and trying to win Hannah Montana tickets should be humiliating enough. Obviously he was doing it for his child to go to the concert and he did not even win so he was em brassed, he did not satisfy his child, and because of his attempts is now facing criminal charges, talk about bad luck. I do not think the man was thinking about his chance of actually getting in trouble and was just trying to make his child happy so if they put him in jail that seems a bit unfair don't you think?

World's Tallest Man Struggles to Fit In

PODOLYANTSI, Ukraine (March 24) - Leonid Stadnik's phenomenal height has forced him to quit a job he loved and to stoop as he moves around his house. But Stadnik, who Guinness World Records says is the world's tallest human, says his condition has also taught him that there are many kindhearted strangers. Since his recognition by Ukrainian record keepers four years ago, and by Guinness last year, people from all over Ukraine and the world have sent him out sized clothing, provided his home with running water and recently presented him with a giant bicycle. And on Monday, he got a new car, courtesy of President Viktor Yushchenko. "Thanks to good people I have shoes and clothes," said the 37-year-old former veterinarian, who still lives with his 66-year-old mother.
Although an 8 foot tall man is a bit intimidating and rather scary he is still a human being. I am glad to present this article to people and show that there are still some kind hearted people in this world. This man has probably suffered from depression because of how people must react to his size, but thanks to the few good people in the world he does not have to feel like such an outcast. At least people were kind enough to send him cloths and other forms of generosity showing that there is some humility left in the world. When I read this article it made me think about staring and judging people which is something I think all of us should try and do from time to time.

Home Ransacked After Craigslist Hoax

Dozens of people descended on Robert Salisbury's Oregon home after ads posted on Craigslist Saturday said his belongings -- including his horse -- were free for the taking. But the ads were a hoax. When Salisbury returned home, some people refused to stop taking his things. The Jackson County Sheriff's office is inviting people to return the goods no questions asked. Those who don't, it says, will be "part of the theft case."
I do not understand how people could believe someone would be giving all of their stuff away for free. Not only did people take this man's stuff they refused to stop when he explained that the whole thing was a mistake. These people should be charged with theft and have it on their record, for those who stopped and gave the stuff back should be let free with no consequences. This article scares me into seeing how dumb some people are to believe a post on the internet that makes relatively no sense what so ever, what is happening to the intelligence of our race?

Congress Bid by Ex-Narc Who Backs Pot!!

DALLAS (AP) - A former narcotics officer who advocates the legalization of drugs has a new career goal - congressman. Barry Cooper is running as a Libertarian candidate in the 31st Congressional District in Central Texas. He faces Republican incumbent John Carter and Democrat Brian P. Ruiz, a consultant. None of the three has an opponent in Tuesday's primary. Cooper, a police officer in several Texas towns, became a successful narcotics officer after joining the Permian Basin Drug Task Force, a regional group in West Texas. Cooper, 38, said he took part in 800 drug busts, and seized more than 50 vehicles and $500,000 in cash and assets. However, he soured on his former profession and now advocates the legalization of drugs, saying that would mean addicts could receive better treatment and drug-related crimes would decrease. Cooper said laws prohibiting the growing, selling and consumption of drugs, marijuana in particular, are misguided. "Americans are not going to stop growing it, they're not going to stop buying it, they're not going to stop smoking it, even if you continue to put them in jail," Cooper said. He has been selling tips on marijuana use. His latest DVD, "Never Get Raided," shows how to buy, sell and grow pot without going to jail, and how to identify undercover officers.
I chose to show you readers this article to support my last post. This is an ex-narcotics police officer that is for pot being legalized and is now running for Congress. This man is well experienced in dealing with drugs and even he thinks that pot should not be taken as seriously as they have been over the past years. This is probably because it costs us as U.S. citizens thousands of dollars a year to put all of these offenders in prison. I feel if this country starts to focus on the more serious crimes and stop trying to fill seats in prisons we might save some money in taxes or at least put it toward education and not housing minor criminals. I hope Cooper gets into Congress because instead of trying to make laws harsher for minor offenses I feel he might try and emphasize on the more serious crimes like murder and rape. I guess we’ll have to see what happens but I’m hoping it’s going to turn around soon because we as a country are beginning to split.

Pot Still Illegal, Even if It's Recycled!!

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - A pot grower in northern California is following nature's rules, if not the law. Workers who were sorting items at a San Jose recycling center last week found a large trash bag full of marijuana plants. The center collects leaves, tree limbs and other natural material for composting, but San Jose police say the plants won't end up that way. Instead they'll be held as evidence of a crime. Police say the marijuana could have come from anywhere in Santa Clara County. They don't know how much of the pot in the bag was sellable.

Pot has never been a really big issue in this country. Obliviously many Americans have been doing it for many years and it has always been loosely handled. The 60's and 70's were two decades where many people used pot on the regular and the law really never took it as a huge threat. This is why I can't understand why the police in California are trying to track down this pot-grower. Like there are not hundreds of more dangerous crimes being committed while they are on a hunt for someone who in my opinion is not that bad of a person. Honestly, many people in the U.S. smoke pot or have experimented with it in their lifetimes and you never here of anyone dying from a pot related incident. So people are going to smoke it no matter what at least the person who was growing it had the common decency to recycle it for composting, meanwhile there are plenty of high-class people who all supposedly abide by the law that don't recycle and contribute to the pollution of this earth. Basically I think it is ridiculous that the police are wasting their time looking for the person who recycled pot and not looking for all the rapist and murders out there.