Cheating on tests with Apple Watch

Big Ugly

Big Ugly

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Daughter is a first year student at, as such, an un-named service academy. Last week she messaged me to telephone her; the first time she has reached out for advice like this. In our phone call that followed she described that she had just walked out of a calculus test where the individual beside her had used his Apple Watch to access the study guide throughout the test. Understandingly upset, she was not sure what to do next. She felt that if she brought it to the attention of the instructor, the instructor would know who the guilty party was and she was not prepared to take that step. The young man had been sitting beside my daughter in this class since the beginning of the term but she now says he nowhere to be found.

I suggested she needs to bring this incident to a higher authority as what is really needed is a change in testing policy to keep up with the changing technological landscape; thereby preventing this temptation going forward. Again my daughter suggested that 'no one cares' about the Apple Watch-put the cell phone away -but they will leave that pesky Watch for another day.

All right, I’m not the best person to advise my daughter in this situation. I was hoping those individuals on the forum with years of experience would offer their advice.
 
Depending on SA, there is an honor code. The honor code will guide the responsibility of your DD on what she is to do. For example at USNA, a Midshipmen is responsible for turning in the Midshipmen for witnessing this. If she does not, she herself, could be held to a conduct offense for not turning in the other Mid. Will leave the nuances of USMA and USAFA to other posters.

Now, this is all easier said then done. There is a strong belief in not ‘bilging’ your classmates. This is an extremely tough balance and not as cut and dry as many think. For those of us who have lived inside the walls of a SA, turning someone in for an honor offense is a very mentally and emotionally taxing experience that can last months if an honor board is held. Some classmates will turn their backs on you. Some will think you are a rat, regardless of the honor code. Not sure on the other SAs, but at USNA, they have honor reps on each company to help guide and assist. Chaplains are another area to help talk thru this scenario and just hear it all out loud.

I was associated with 4 honor cases in my time at USNA (none were my cases). My close friend was involved in a case in which their entire chem class was put up for an honor offense. It was dismissed. My best friend put his room mate up and he was thrown out for lying. Our company became very divided on this and we remain divided the remaining 2.5 years we were there. I was a witness to two other cases in which I witnessed someone doing something that they later lied about. One went to an honor board and they were delayed grads due to it.
 
+ NavyHoops post. OP, I agree with you. You made a suggestion, the right one IMO, now it's up to her to decide after thinking it through. She is an adult now & aware of her responsibilities. Particularity like the idea of Honor reps.
Whatever decision she makes, recommend just listening without critiquing. You are her father and that's the person she wants to listen to her, get support from, & who will not judge. She will be second-guessing herself enough.
 
If her SA has an Honor Code containing a non-toleration clause, and she knows that she observed cheating, she should follow the guidance provided by the Code. Honor reps and others may provide guidance in the event she needs it.

I am curious as to how she knows for certain that it was the study guide being accessed. I've worn one for three years or so and am not sure how someone sitting next to me would be able to read what is displayed with such a certainty to be able to accuse me of cheating.
 
When we have “hypothetical” conversations with the mid sponsor family struggling with the “don’t bilge a classmate” pressure, I ask them, if you wanted a person like that on the bridge of your ship in a busy shipping lane while you caught some between watches rack time in your stateroom, or next to you in the cockpit, or running the maintainers for your squadron or sub or ship - someone willing to take short cuts and put his or her own welfare first, someone, who, down the road, would likely be willing to cheat again, this time with much more at stake. Whose job is it to maintain standards? Stand up for what is right?

One of my best bosses told me “an action/decision delayed is an action/decision taken,” good or bad.

And - if she’s a mid, the mids all know the story of Travis Manion and Brendan Looney. Travis’ quote, and the bedrock of the Travis Manion Foundation, whose mission is to develop character in future generations: “If not me, then who?”

It’s a credit to your daughter’s character she is disturbed by this. I’d like to think I had the strength of character to pursue this, but at that age, we tend to care a lot more about what others think, especially in the court of Brigade opinion. As Hoops said, it’s not cut and dried.

There is an Honor process, and she will have had training on it and seen how it works.

She can talk things through confidentially with a chaplain. Those folks have heard everything. They won’t tell her what to do, but will be a sounding board.

We all hope we don’t have to be the ones stuck on the horns of an ethical dilemma, but when we are, I always feel action feels better than no action.

If your daughter does nothing, she will never forget that she let it slide, if it’s already bothering her now.

It’s her decision to make.
 
Unless things have changed significantly in the last 27 years (and they may have), we plebes were counseled to talk to the alleged offender first, when possible/practical. Often, knowing that a shipmate knew what he had done was enough to get the offender to self-report. In my company, I was aware of two self-reports for cheating on a nav assignment (1) and an exam (1). Neither got booted, but there was restriction to serve.
 
At USMA, back in the day, the honor code read "nor tolerate those that do." I am not sure if that is still how it reads. Not an easy situation to be in, but it is clear cut what her actions should be. Real life story....I was at my first unit and we had a brigade level inspection and we had some issues with the arms room. There was no real way to fix the problem since it was record keeping that hadn't been done correctly in the past. My company commander asked me to "fix-up" the documentation. I told him that I wouldn't do that. He asked me again a couple of days later and I told him we would fix it moving forward, but not change the old records. I was ready to let the issue go (hoping he learned the lesson that we aren't going to fake records) and then he decided to go directly to the armorer to ask him to fix it. The armorer told me about it and I told him don't do it. After talking about it twice with my commander, I ended up going to the battalion XO to talk about the issue. He referred me to the battalion commander. Needless to say the battalion commander appreciated my honesty and my company commander didn't get the best OER. Was it risky since this was my direct commander? Yep. Did I talk directly to him first before talking with anyone else? Yep. Even going against my own commander, was it the right thing to do? Yep. If he was going to take a short cut on something as small as an arms room inspection what would he do when the s**t hit the fan?
 
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billyb said:
but at USMA back in the day the honor code read "nor tolerate those that do." I am not sure if that is still how it reads.
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Cadet_Honor_Code.jpg


I believe there has been no editing of this monument sign.
 
I think you are seeing the honorable living kicking in from the older graduates. The honor code has not changed in a long time and makes our beloved Academy such a special place. I think you have gotten some good advice for your daughter and is similar to what I would give to mine if she was presented with a similar situation. The only "right" answer is to approach the individual and ask for some clarification regarding the issue. If the cadet was in fact cheating on the test, then he needs to self-report the issue or your daughter should. I am not sure how much of the cadet prayer the current cadets have to learn these days but used as a guiding principle it simplifies everything. It takes a great deal of internal courage to face issues like this but is one of the core values of an effective leader.

upload_2017-11-13_13-30-40.png
 
The "...nor tolerate among us anyone who does." is an integral part of the USAFA Honor code. If your DD is a cadet at USAFA and unsure of the process, I would suggest that she reach out to her coach for guidance.

https://www.usafa.edu/character/honor/
 
LongAgoPlebe said:
Unless things have changed significantly in the last 27 years (and they may have), we plebes were counseled to talk to the alleged offender first, when possible/practical. Often, knowing that a shipmate knew what he had done was enough to get the offender to self-report. In my company, I was aware of two self-reports for cheating on a nav assignment (1) and an exam (1). Neither got booted, but there was restriction to serve.
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Except now if she talk to the person and they dont self report, she will be on the hook if she doesnt say something and student gets caught and tells them that she knew about it. Before you do something like this you have to 100% sure you will notify the school if the student doesnt. At that point, I would live by my "No good act goes unpunished"
 
I have to respectfully disagree with part of what you are saying Humey. She is already “on the hook” in my opinion by witnessing the act. It is an unfortunate situation to be in, but I agree with USMA 1994 on how it should be handled.
 
The Honor Code was the guiding principal, but I was more fearful of returning home and telling my father and mother I was there because I cheated on an exam...
 
USMA96 said:
I have to respectfully disagree with part of what you are saying Humey. She is already “on the hook” in my opinion by witnessing the act. It is an unfortunate situation to be in, but I agree with USMA 1994 on how it should be handled.
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Yes she on the hook ethically and based on the rules, but based on reality and how the real world works, she is only on the hook if she decides to be
 
She gets to decide what code she wants to live by...the Honor Code she swore to uphold,or a personal code that values classmates above integrity.

If she is going to live by the code she swore to live by and the Academy demands, she should confront the offending cadet. If they cannot come to a suitable solution (explaining the misunderstanding or turning themselves in if they did cheat), then she should report the cheating to the instructor.

In the end it's her choice. I have a feeling that she knows the proper course already. Now, it's a matter of following through on her code's demands.
 
raimius said:
She gets to decide what code she wants to live by...the Honor Code she swore to uphold,or a personal code that values classmates above integrity.
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Yes to this.
Another favorite leader of mine once commented that ethical standards and behavior are not like a cafeteria line, where you get to pick and choose what you want, and walk by the stuff you don’t like or find hard to eat.
 
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