CGA investigating possible honor violations

So I think this thread got way off point.

Having just graduated the academy, I can tell you these online quizzes are numerous and tedious. I'm thinking of a particular software we were forced to use. It allowed you to guess a specific number of times, after which the answer would be revealed.

Of course, cadets are exceptionally good at maximizing time and gaming the system. It wasn't uncommon to get a 50 question weekly quiz, and get 5+ cadets in a room, work through the problems, and share answers, even intentionally guessing the number of times required to show the answer, and then sharing that answer. By defusing the amount of wrong answers, everyone got a higher grade. Is it ethical? Probably not. However, in my time I don't remember that tactic being specifically outlawed. But that's how cadets are. We also share everything in the fleet, whether it's templates or notes.

Also, I think everyone is overreacting. These are cadet matters, for the cadet board to solve. All the cadets are growing and learning, and the system will impose its own punishments, right or wrong. It exists for a reason. But it's a cadet affair, for cadets and the administration to figure out.
 
My point is, these things happen ALL the time. Leave the kids alone; talking about immediately throwing them out for violating the code is unfair and frankly disrespectful, without understanding the specifics of the case. It could be nothing more than a misunderstood collaboration policy. It's not fair to hang them from the anonmity of an internet forum, especially not without the details.
 
I remember thinking "these are cadet issues, butt out" as my classmate because the first cadet in CGA history to be Court Martialed.

But the reality is, while there are privacy protections (including in the fleet) for administrative issues, the activities and misconducts are of interest to the tax paying public.

The Coast Guard and Coast Guard Academy can't whine about its budget in one sentence and then roll in with "mind ya self" to the same people who "fund" it. Doesn't work in the Coast Guard... Doesn't work in any other public institution.

Is it a cadet issue? Sure. But the way CGA handles it is certainly a concern for everyone else.

And a final point, I've never seen to arguments "we did the same kind of thing" or "everyone else was doing it" have great effect.
 
LineInTheSand said:
I remember thinking "these are cadet issues, butt out" as my classmate because the first cadet in CGA history to be Court Martialed.

But the reality is, while there are privacy protections (including in the fleet) for administrative issues, the activities and misconducts are of interest to the tax paying public.

The Coast Guard and Coast Guard Academy can't whine about its budget in one sentence and then roll in with "mind ya self" to the same people who "fund" it. Doesn't work in the Coast Guard... Doesn't work in any other public institution.

Is it a cadet issue? Sure. But the way CGA handles it is certainly a concern for everyone else.

And a final point, I've never seen to arguments "we did the same kind of thing" or "everyone else was doing it" have great effect.
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I definitely understand your point of view. I guess my point was more along the lines of "don't taste the food before it's done", you know? Cadets do cadet things and that's never going to change at 18-22 yrs old. As an alumni, you can understand that I'm sure. The public doesn't really need to know every detail, Just like the taxpaying public doesn't need to know every little detail that happens inside cape May or any other training environment. It's a work in progress; judge the final product. You can judge the institution of it's chronically failing it's objective, which id say it isnt.

And my point wasn't "everyone's doing it so it's okay". I realize that's the biggest fallacy anyone ever falls into. I meant more along the lines of sometimes the guidelines are vague, instructors are vague, and cadets suffer for it. I saw it happen a great deal. However, sometimes cadets knowingly break the rules too. Hard to say which is the situation with the cadets in question. I DO feel confident that they will be punished according to the degree of involvement, etc. But it's not up to us on the internet to decide whether it was knowing or unknowing, extreme or trivial.

There are grey areas involved here. Its not always black and white. The administration will figure that out. It just irks me when people say "such a shame, they should be disenrolled immediately, what a failure, etc", without knowing the full circumstances... Which, to my first point, I don't think we need to know anyway.

Feel free to disagree, but I like to remember these are actual people with human failings and room to grow and learn, so I say let the process work.
 
capolo13 said:
Feel free to disagree, but I like to remember these are actual people with human failings and room to grow and learn, so I say let the process work.
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I think it's important to remember that growing and learning doesn't always mean "redo". Sometimes it comes from big life changes arising from poor choices.
 
Call me crazy but anyone committing an Honor Violation was typically kicked out, provided the investigation proved that the cadet violated it. We had one in the class of '90. This cadet would go into his math class and while going over the correct answers to the tests, would erase his penciled in answers that were wrong and pencil in the correct answer. Well the professor got wise the 3rd time he claimed "You made a mistake grading it!" and photocopied his next test. When he tried to pull the same stunt again, the professor whipped out the photocopy and said, "Well this is the test you handed in, I'm not quite sure why it varies now unless you changed it!" He went through the executive board so fast it was surprising! Typically those take months! This was completed within a couple weeks. His last night at the Academy we gave him a "birthday party", although it wasn't his birthday, and it wasn't a party.

If you're cheating the Academy and the corps of cadets, what other shortcuts are you taking that may endanger someone in a critical situation at sea, or air, or some rescue mission? I'm very happy he got kicked out, and I believe it was dishonorable.
 
It's been 2.5 years since anyone has posted to this thread. I expect all the participants have left the building.
 
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