New School Politics

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In today’s fast paced world, students are compelled to do whatever they can to get ahead. Stiff competition from quickly expanding third-world countries like India and China has motivated the US government to start new initiatives seeking to bring education to the forefront. In the process, thousands of students across the country are caught up; desperately trying to find their way in an increasingly difficult to navigate system. College admissions are on the rise, as evidenced by a recent New York Times article. The article mentions the fact that oftentimes even the most qualified students [those with either a 4.0 Grade Point Average or perfect 2400 SAT scores] are rejected from America’s top universities.

The increasing level of competition often drives students to participate in rather unsavory activities. Plagiarism, cheating, and other dishonest academic behaviors run rampant through the halls of America’s educational institutions. The new wave of perfidy has given way to a rise in organizations that combat academic deception. iParadigms, LLC, was one of the first companies to fight plagiarism. Their turnitin.com service, which originally began as plagiarism.org, has become the de facto leader in a rapidly proliferating field.

They face challenges from the law, however. Four students from across the country are suing iParadigms for copyright infringement of their intellectual property. The Washington Post broke the story first, noting that while the service is valuable to dozens of academic institutions, it may violate several US laws. The service, utilized by dozens of colleges [including Harvard and Georgetown Universities] and high schools [including the one the founders of New School Politics attend], purports to catch plagiarism. My experience with the service proves its thoroughness. Whenever I cite from an online source, Turnitin always knows where I’ve cited from. Even snippets from essays like “Bill of Rights” are highlighted because they are often used by the authors of other papers. The question is, however: does Turnitin violate the rights of students? The four students that are bringing the lawsuit against iParadigms allege that they copyrighted their papers before submitting them and explicitly acknowledged that they’d like them not to remain on Turnitin’s servers. As the service is automated, it was unable to respond to that request and archived their papers anyway. The WP cites Andrew Beckerman-Rodau of Suffolk University Law School, who notes that “it seems like Turnitin is a commercial use. They turn around and sell this service, and it’s expensive. And the service only works because they get these papers.”

I’m not an expert, but I feel somewhat qualified to comment on the case because I have some [albeit limited] knowledge of intellectual property law and experience with Turnitin’s service. There are no objections to the fact that Turnitin does archive student papers. Unfortunately for iParadigms, in this case, the papers they archived were copyrighted. Turnitin, however, seems to have their bases covered. In an online intellectual property Q&A [caution: the file is a PDF], they assert that the “legality of the services has been confirmed by our nationally recognized law firm, Foley & Lardner, and law firms throughout the world.” The upcoming trial will test their claim.

The bigger question is: should such services even be necessary? In Friday’s Wall Street Journal, an article entitled “The Admissions Police“, runs down a list of reasons for admissions counselors at America’s top universities to be vigilant. They provide several examples of students falsifying information on applications. Has the world pressured students so much that they now must lie to get ahead in life? Several of the colleges mentioned in the article are even hiring professional private investigators to do background checks on prospective students. Whose fault is this? Has society pressured students into lying…is this somehow the fault of government? The disconcerting news of dishonesty in academia should serve as a warning-bell of a nascent trend. If this tradition is to continue without structure, could academia only become an area where students learn vile habits for later life? Several have argued that, instead of vetting papers through services like Turnitin, students should have morality lessons in school. The case with Turnitin is cause for distress. Is society forcing students to distort themselves into something they’re not? As one-time students progress into the work world, their habits may travel with them, bringing a new era of dishonest and a lack of accountability in the future. Conservatives are constantly concerned with family values but few have approached the area of education [besides arguing for Creationism to be taught in schools]. Morality may start at home, but school’s an important place as well. As America’s educational system groans under the further weight of deceit and deception, it’s important to ensure that accountability in education is preserved.

Popularity: 52% [?]

Our favorite San Francisco liberal has done it again with her recent trip to Syria. Nancy Pelosi went against the wishes of the president and met with the President of Syria against the wishes of the White House.

Even if her actions in Syria were beneficial (which they were not), she has set a bad precedent that shows her lack of understanding for the US Constitution. Yes, the Bush administration sometimes seems to treat the Constitution as a scrap of paper, but it is beyond hypocritical for the democrats to claim they will restore the Constitution when they themselves go against the very principles they claim to uphold.

We are in a dangerous place when our Congress threatens to dictate the foreign policy of the President of the United States. If Newt Gingrich had traveled to Bosnia to meet with officials when Bill Clinton was in office, there would have been a tremendous outcry. The overall state of American politics shows how little our politicians know or care about the real issues. It seems that they would all rather fight amongst themselves than protect the nation they have sworn to serve.

Editor’s Note: Some spelling and punctuation fixed at 6PM EST 4/8/07.

Popularity: 33% [?]

The actions of the British sailors and marines who were captured by the Iranians and recently released were despicable. There is no soldier in the US Military that would have placed such shame upon their country and their own honor.

Not only did the British sailors not resist, but their lack of preparation and protection shows the pathetic nature of the British Navy and brings their military capabilities into question. To put it simply, the conduct of the British sailors was unacceptable from start to finish.

Not only did the British not provide proper air and sea support to protect the sailors conducting the search of the vessel in question, but there also was no effort by the British Military to stop the Iranian forces. When the British saw the Iranians entering international water against the UN mandate they immediately should have fired warning shots across the bows of the Iranian vessels. The fact that the British surrendered themselves without offering any resistance has made the Royal Navy the laughingstock of the international community.

If the Iranian videos of the British sailors are a tell about the British navy it is that the men in the Royal Navy look like back stabbing euro trash and that the British navy has an affinity for recruiting over weight women to conduct military operations (a contrast to the US Navy Seals).

In addition, the British should have explicitly stated that they had military options on the table. The biggest mistake made by Jimmy Carter (one reason he should be tried for treason) was that not only did he not respond to an open declaration of war on the United States, but he also publicly stated that the United States would not engage the Iranians militarily. It is by the pure grace of the Iranians that the sailors were released and will now be used as a huge propaganda device by the Iranian regime.

As soon as the British sailors were taken hostage, Tony Blair should have announced that the Iranians had fifteen days to release the sailors or that they would face severe consequences. Some of these consequences could have included raids by US and British soldiers against Iranian oil and natural gas facilities in the Persian Gulf. In addition, the Iranian Embassy in England could have been seized, and the EU could have banned the entry of any new Iranians into any country in the European Union.

The Iranians have declared war on America multiple times, and they have consistently been met without a response. The failure by the international community to respond to the inappropriate actions by Iran not only signals to Iran that they can get away with anything, but also informs other rogue nations that there are not consequences for their actions. In addition, by allowing the British sailors to go unpunished for their un-soldierly conduct, we demonstrate to Islamic extremists that we no longer have any resolve. I have to wonder if anyone in office has the gall to fight Islamic extremists.

Editor’s Note: Some spelling and punctuation fixed at 6PM EST 4/8/07.

Popularity: 45% [?]

I was watching a special on Fox News about the six imam incident that occurred last fall. One must wonder, however, why these Imams have acted so inappropriately and then broke the story to the press so quickly that they were discriminated against.

One possibility is that the goal of the imams might not only be to raise funds for terrorism by suing American citizens and corporations, but also to scare people from reporting suspicious behavior aboard flights in the future, which may lead to new terrorist attacks. The United States cannot allow activity by any group to threaten the public and all Americans should be encouraged to report suspicious behavior, especially in sensitive locations.

The six imams are suing US Airways and are threatening to sue the passengers who were concerned by their behavior. Not only should there be a law protecting people who report suspicious behavior and not only should airlines be immune from law suits relating to the removal of passengers on the suspicion of terrorism, but additionally such behavior should not be allowed in the first place.

Liberals in this country are too willing to accept the intolerance of Muslims and that acceptance is what leads to the rise of authoritative regimes and theocracies.

Editor’s Note: Some spelling and punctuation fixed at 6PM EST 4/8/07.

Popularity: 42% [?]

Cigarette smoke continues to be banned across the world in restaurants, schools, offices, bars, and other public places. But, is Toronto going to far with the potential banning of smoking in rooms of all apartment buildings in Canada’s largest city?

Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman has announced that it is time for the public to begin to debate over the merits of a ban. Many highrises and apartment buildings do not have the proper ventilation systems in place to ensure that smoke does not filter into other suites. While he would like the market to take care of the situation, Smitherman said it would be interesting to have the discussion over whether any legislation should be in place.

We all know smoking causes many health problems. While the number of smokers has certainly diminished in recent decades, and a growing stigma is attached to those with cigarettes in their mouths, I do believe that more laws are required to move the situation forward. Smoking should be banned wherever it can encroach on someone who does not welcome it. Only if the area has sufficient ventilation, such as proper closed off smoking rooms in bars, or in a large park, should smoking be allowed. A certain radius around bus stops or the front of public buildings should be smoke-free by law. The smoke in such an area can travel with the right gust of wind, and it annoys anyone in its path. It shouldn’t be up to the non-smoker to move out of the way.

If smoke is leaking into the rooms of non-smokers, those buildings should be designated as “smokey.” From here, I could see two situations: either buildings are designated as smoke-free or not; or, under harsher laws, the landlords of the “smokey” buildings would be required to fix the ventilation within a certain date or face closure. With option 1, you could even provide incentives like lower property taxes in exchange for cleaner and healthier air for citizens, while a “smoke” tax could also be applied to those buildings who do not conform with the smoke-free status.

Popularity: 48% [?]

Aside from Rosie O’Donnell and Mahmoud Admadinejad, most of the world is aware of that it is Iran who has been provoking the West in recent days. I remember reading two Fridays ago about the seizure of the fifteen British sailors and marines before any American media began reporting it. Indeed, it seems that as I predicted the situation has escalated. Aside from historical pretense, it seems that Iran is preparing for a longer standoff.

During the embassy crisis, America had one advantage prior to conducting its failed rescue attempt; the hostages were in one location. The Iranians have learned their lesson and they have apparently scattered the British sailors throughout the country, or at least in multiple locations within Tehran. This makes any British rescue attempt much more difficult. At the same time, the British cannot allow the sailors to be brought to trial, as it will be a propaganda disaster.

The Iranians are hoping that the British will be forced to the negotiating table with the Russians. It is clear that neither America, nor Britain will consider making prisoner exchanges (which would also be a disaster and an incentive for hostage taking in the future). However, there are military options that the United States and Britain could take with the full support of the international community that would give them the upper hand in the negotiating table and it would also demonstrate that such blatant disregard of international law will not be tolerated.

One idea that was considered by the US military during the Iranian hostage crisis was to use naval and sea power to secure several Iranian Islands in the Persian Gulf and to then exchange the Islands for the hostages. Jimmy Carter committed to a failed rescue attempt, but it does not mean such a proposal would not work during this crisis. Britain should immediately begin a massive PR campaign at the United Nations, in the EU, with members of the Arab League, and with the media to use all of their available intelligence to prove that the British sailors were in international waters and kidnapped illegally. Additionally, in a statement to the Security Council and to Iran, Britain should make it clear that Iran will face harsh consequences if the British soldiers are not freed within ten days, or if they are brought to trial.

If the British sailors are not released or if they are brought to trail, American and British naval forces in the Persian Gulf should seize several Iranian islands that provide economic and political significance. This should of course correspond with a total naval blockade of all Iranian ports in the gulf. England could then use this territory to get an upper hand in the negotiating table and offer an exchange of the British sailors for the Iranian Islands.

If the sailors or marines are harmed in any way, coalition air and sea power should decimate all Iranian government and military assets along with using precision air strikes to cripple the Iranian nuclear program. In any case, US soldiers in Iraq should be protected against any Iranian retaliation as all American forces were given proper equipment prior to the invasion incase Saddam used biological, nuclear, or chemical warfare in his defense.

As I write this another news story about growing tensions with Iran seems to be breaking, and I am sure that when I awake tomorrow the situation will be different than when I went to bed. Out of all of this, the most disturbing fact may be the lack of appearance by Iranian President Mahmoud Admadinejad, which may suggest that the country is now in total control of the hard liners and clerics.

Popularity: 40% [?]