MCLC: right to cheat

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: kirk (denton.2 at osu.edu)
Subject: right to cheat
***********************************************************

Source: Yahoo, Finance (6/21/13):
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/chinese-students-parents-fight-cheat-16255799
7.html

Chinese students and their parents fight for the right to cheat
By Lily Kuo

Earlier this month, ahead of notoriously difficult college entrance exams,
an angry crowd of 2,000 parents and students descended on a high school in
Hubei province to protest a new education policy that banned cheating.
They smashed cars and chanted outside. According to the Telegraph’s report
of the riot, one educator inside the school posted on a messaging service,
“We are trapped in the exam hall. Students are smashing things and trying
to break in.” At least one teacher was punched in the face (paywall).

The rift amounted to this: Metal detectors had been installed in schools
to route out students carrying hearing or transmitting devices. More
invigilators were hired to monitor the college entrance exam and patrol
campus for people transmitting answers to students. Female students were
patted down. In response, angry parents and students championed their
right to cheat. Not cheating, they said, would put them at a disadvantage
in a country where student cheating has become standard practice. “We want
fairness. There is no fairness if you do not let us cheat,” they chanted.

The day’s protests sparked a broader debate about entrenched corruption in
Chinese society. On the social media site Sina Weibo, a Chinese
broadcaster, the Voice of China commented
<http://www.weibo.com/1699540307/zCpl3Fph9>:

“Cheating isn’t what’s wrong. What’s wrong is when cheating becomes the
standard. When people stop being ashamed of breaking the rules, and
cheating becomes the unspoken rule and abiding by law becomes an
alternative. What this society lacks isn’t just rules; society is an exam
hall. Dreams depend on fairness and rules.”

Nepotism and elitism among high-level officials and business heads has
also served as justification for cheating. One blogger said
<http://weibo.com/u/1070760285>, “Why can the leadership’s children cheat
but the common people can’t?” Another blogger wrote
<http://weibo.com/vone86> (registration required), “When committing evil
becomes a habit, of course it should become a right.”

The official stance appeared to soften following the protests. The local
government said that “exam supervision had been too strict and some
students did not take it well.”