This Just In – Let’s start with honor. Duke University has an honor code. It reads:
“To uphold the Duke Community Standard: I will not lie, cheat, or steal in my academic endeavors; I will conduct myself honorably in all my endeavors; and I will act if the Standard is compromised.”
What that means is, in the simplest expression, that cheating is bad – whether in writing a paper or in your conduct overall – and that students will not do it. If it is discovered by a student, he or she is expected to report it. Period.
Duke policy on violations is equally clear:
“It is the responsibility of all students to understand and abide by Duke’s expectations regarding academic work. Students found guilty of plagiarism, lying, cheating or other forms of academic dishonesty may be suspended.”
So the question at hand is simple, though some might like to interpret it as complex: Does Duke have a policy and an honor code or not? If the university enforces the code and the policy, then its investigation of Priya Parkash’s obvious plagiarism in her commencement speech earlier this month will result in a review of her academic record and possibly revocation of her degree.
The Duke Chronicle has done so much solid reporting on this, the university will be playing catch up to discover anything new. First there was the documentation of the theft itself. (Click here to read) Then (in response to the revelations reported by The Chronicle and elsewhere) there was an utterly embarrassing non-apology apology. She might as well have said “I’m sorry this happened.”
No, Parkash’s “apology,” which was not written by her, claims that she was stunned by learning after giving this speech that the material was simply a re-write (and a sloppy one) of the student commencement speech from Harvard in 2014. The PR firm statement written for her starts out by describing what an honor it was for her to be invited to speak at commencement, leaving out the fact that she applied for this privilege. She goes on to blame the respected friends from whom she asked advice. Ridiculous.
Her personal integrity is not the only failure here (although it’s the centerpiece of this calamity). The university has an 11-member committee to manage this process That group conducted a two-stage review of submitted speeches. Neither review included evaluation for plagiarism. Mark that one “room for improvement.”
From the Chronicle:
“From five finalists, the committee recommended Parkash’s speech to President Vincent Price, according to an email obtained by The Chronicle sent from Lawrence Kluttz, director of communications of the office of the president, to committee members on April 25.
The selection committee was led by Kluttz, according to the committee member, who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retribution.”
Let that soak in – fear of retribution. If that is the culture at Duke for this process (or any other) then Duke must face the fact that it does not have an honor code and does not have an academic integrity policy. They have words not worth the paper (or screen) they’re written on. This is every student and every academician’s responsibility.
The Chronicle is certainly living up to its responsibility of journalistic integrity in covering this story. I applaud them. Mr. Kluttz works in the President’s Office at Duke. The lack of rigor in this process that he led brought this exposure to the university and injury to its reputation. He should be updating his resume right now.
In the words of a great Duke leader, this is unacceptable.
Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and the host of the Weekend Watercooler on 97.9 The Hill. She is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.
Readers can reach Jean via email – jean@penandinc.com and via Twitter @JeanBolduc
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