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Professor Outsmarts His Cheating Students Who Thought They Had Him Fooled, Sets Up Hilarious Revenge
Professor Outsmarts His Cheating Students Who Thought They Had Him Fooled, Sets Up Hilarious Revenge
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Professor Outsmarts His Cheating Students Who Thought They Had Him Fooled, Sets Up Hilarious Revenge

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It’s no secret that most students tend to underestimate the professors they are handing their papers to. You see, with years of experience, a well-trained natural lie detector and AI tools for plagiarism, it’s virtually impossible to deceive them. Unless you want to play with the tail of a lion.

In that case, you may end like the group of students from this story on r/ProRevenge, with a failed test, ruined vacation, wasted money, “bored to death and have nothing to show for it.” The story comes from a cancer researcher and guest professor at a university’s school of medicine who goes by the handle u/CmSrN. For part of his module’s grading, the students were asked to submit two reports.

“As I was grading the reports I noticed a small group of students who found reports from previous years online and literally copy+paste those reports, changing only their name,” the professor wrote, calling it “a facepalm moment.” As you can suspect, they did not pass.

But when the time had come to book an appointment to review their grades, the author had prepared a trap for them to teach them a real lesson about where lies and cheating take you. Hint: not far.

RELATED:

    A guest professor at a university’s school of medicine shared a story of how he caught his students cheating and lying right to his face so he taught them a lesson to remember

    Image credits: Jeswin Thomas (Not the actual photo)

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    Image credits: Michael Burrows (Not the actual photo)

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    It’s no secret that plagiarism is still a great issue found in many universities globally. Although it’s unethical and can have serious consequences for students’ future career, and it also undermines the standards of the institution and of the degrees it issues, many students still do it.

    Out of a survey of nearly 64,000 students in American universities, 38% of students admit to “paraphrasing/copying a few sentences from a written source without footnoting it.” Merriam-Webster defines plagiarism as the following: “to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own; to use (another’s production) without crediting the source; to commit literary theft; to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.”

    Meanwhile, University of Oxford refers to plagiarism as a breach of academic integrity. “It is a principle of intellectual honesty that all members of the academic community should acknowledge their debt to the originators of the ideas, words, and data which form the basis for their own work,” the university explains on its official website. “Passing off another’s work as your own is not only poor scholarship, but also means that you have failed to complete the learning process.”

    Many people supported the professor and his unorthodox method of teaching the students a lesson about cheating

    While other people were not that impressed with the professor’s revenge and questioned whether it was the right way

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    Liucija Adomaite

    Liucija Adomaite

    Author, Community member

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    Liucija Adomaite is a creative mind with years of experience in copywriting. She has a dynamic set of experiences from advertising, academia, and journalism. This time, she has set out on a journey to investigate the ways in which we communicate ideas on a large scale. Her current mission is to find a magic formula for how to make ideas, news, and other such things spread like a virus.

    Read less »
    Liucija Adomaite

    Liucija Adomaite

    Author, Community member

    Liucija Adomaite is a creative mind with years of experience in copywriting. She has a dynamic set of experiences from advertising, academia, and journalism. This time, she has set out on a journey to investigate the ways in which we communicate ideas on a large scale. Her current mission is to find a magic formula for how to make ideas, news, and other such things spread like a virus.

    Denis Tymulis

    Denis Tymulis

    Author, Community member

    Read more »

    Denis is a photo editor at Bored Panda. After getting his bachelor's degree in Multimedia and Computer Design, he tried to succeed in digital design, advertising, and branding. Also, Denis really enjoys sports and loves everything related to board sports and water.

    Read less »

    Denis Tymulis

    Denis Tymulis

    Author, Community member

    Denis is a photo editor at Bored Panda. After getting his bachelor's degree in Multimedia and Computer Design, he tried to succeed in digital design, advertising, and branding. Also, Denis really enjoys sports and loves everything related to board sports and water.

    What do you think ?
    Evil Little Thing
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Y'all forgetting that these students are in MED SCHOOL. You know what happens when people successfully cheat their way through med school? They become doctors who kill patients through incompetence or indifference.

    Memere
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And not just med school - they were specializing in ONCOLOGY. This is how cancers go undetected until it's too late.

    Load More Replies...
    Colin L
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "If it was boring the first time, it won't get better the second time." Also: I know some folks are saying that "it's too much if it impacted their families." Whole lotta nope! They are the ones who instilled that entitlement! I've had to sit down with those parents (after they get written permission) and explain how their adult children cheated, didn't do their work, and now were expecting to be graded differently because of the impact it would have. Nope! Your little darling is going to lose their scholarships because of their lazy and entitled attitudes. If it is that important, then they should have done it well in the first place!! I point blank tell my students: if you feel the need to cheat, talk to me so we can make a plan to get you caught up. No sympathy for those who cheat and think they can get away with it.

    Nothanks L. Walk
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That sentence rubbed me the wrong way as well... the arrogance, the GALL to suggest that the family responsible for burdening the world with such a despicably selfish imbecile, would or should somehow be exempt from the consequences of their actions? NO. F**K, NO. NEVER.

    Load More Replies...
    Iifa A.
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    All students know the timetable usually a year in advance in EU. Like from September until June. You also know the exam periods and when the grades come out. There's policies in place for discussing grades also marked in university calendar. It's students responsibility to know these dates and to consider these when booking holidays. I have skipped few family holidays due to college, but it was important to pass on first round and not repeat rather than holiday. Or even better study, present and if you fail at least you weren't a cheat! Usually when you get caught cheating you are BANNED from enrolling into universities it can be years before you may reapply. I have no sympathy for students, and lecturer has a right to pump grades if overall class results go down due to cheaters. You get points for trying and showing motivation to learn. I am onto my third degree and plagiarism is zero tolerance, you're out! Booking and going on holidays is a choice, so is passing modules. Priorities.

    Nubis Knight
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    How dumb are students nowadays? I got my exam 19 years ago and even than our profs informed us about their Google skills to check for plagiarism. Fast forward 19 years, the Google algorithm is even better and they think they'll get away with it? Haha!

    Moos
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I hate it when the writers make the story sound fake :( Even if there's some truth to all of this, the style makes it sound like revenge pr0n.

    Encyclopedia Purple
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Teachers are often considered authority figures but they put in a lot of time grading, they're workers. I think that's why people didn't like seeing him do this. They don't want to see it from his side.

    Memere
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I was thinking there also may be some jealousy that they didn't think of doing the same.

    Load More Replies...
    Ellie Rosser
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The zero mark on the grade would NOT be the appropriate punishment. The zero would be what the work was worth i.e. you did not write something new so you don't get the points allocated to having written something new. To be appropriately punished for the cheating part they need to ALSO be thrown out of school (as most have this written into the policies very sternly) or 'something else'. this teacher chose a 'something else' that allowed them to maybe learn a lesson and still stay in school. The fact he enjoyed it is irrelevant, but very human!

    Suz66
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    His boss didn't kick them out because they are afraid to have a legal battle. It wasn't his choice

    Load More Replies...
    Suz66
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I hope these cheaters learned by this. Professor took extra time to show them they can be caught again. The boss isn't doing society any favors by keeping those cheaters. If they know they can't be kicked out, they may keep cheating with a professor who isn't as savvy at catching them. They should have been kicked out and show zero tolerance. Frustrating for the professors.

    Craig Silberman
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Plagiarism is wrong, and should be punished, but why add insult to injury? Because they lied about their cheating? Jeez, just give them zeroes and tell them why and be done with it. Wasting his own time to humiliate them is just stupid and obnoxious.

    kathoco
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I agree. As a college professor, I can't imagine wasting my time (he says he spent hours with each student) like this. I just give cheaters each a 0. And if they ask why, I tell them that it was clear they had cheated but if they want to protest, we can take it to the displinary council and each of us can give our side of the story. That makes them go away.

    Load More Replies...
    DougalCat
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I’m actually amazed that the uni didn’t want to do anything about it formally- when I was at med school, if there was even the smallest chance you cheated they made a huge deal out of it because it showed you may not have the honesty and integrity to be a doctor. There was even one guy who peed outside when he was super drunk and got caught and charged for ‘indecent exposure’ (I mean how many guys have peed on a tree at stupid o clock in the morning?) and he was asked by the uni to go away for a year and think about his maturity then had to come back into the year group below.

    Load More Comments
    Evil Little Thing
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Y'all forgetting that these students are in MED SCHOOL. You know what happens when people successfully cheat their way through med school? They become doctors who kill patients through incompetence or indifference.

    Memere
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And not just med school - they were specializing in ONCOLOGY. This is how cancers go undetected until it's too late.

    Load More Replies...
    Colin L
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "If it was boring the first time, it won't get better the second time." Also: I know some folks are saying that "it's too much if it impacted their families." Whole lotta nope! They are the ones who instilled that entitlement! I've had to sit down with those parents (after they get written permission) and explain how their adult children cheated, didn't do their work, and now were expecting to be graded differently because of the impact it would have. Nope! Your little darling is going to lose their scholarships because of their lazy and entitled attitudes. If it is that important, then they should have done it well in the first place!! I point blank tell my students: if you feel the need to cheat, talk to me so we can make a plan to get you caught up. No sympathy for those who cheat and think they can get away with it.

    Nothanks L. Walk
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That sentence rubbed me the wrong way as well... the arrogance, the GALL to suggest that the family responsible for burdening the world with such a despicably selfish imbecile, would or should somehow be exempt from the consequences of their actions? NO. F**K, NO. NEVER.

    Load More Replies...
    Iifa A.
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    All students know the timetable usually a year in advance in EU. Like from September until June. You also know the exam periods and when the grades come out. There's policies in place for discussing grades also marked in university calendar. It's students responsibility to know these dates and to consider these when booking holidays. I have skipped few family holidays due to college, but it was important to pass on first round and not repeat rather than holiday. Or even better study, present and if you fail at least you weren't a cheat! Usually when you get caught cheating you are BANNED from enrolling into universities it can be years before you may reapply. I have no sympathy for students, and lecturer has a right to pump grades if overall class results go down due to cheaters. You get points for trying and showing motivation to learn. I am onto my third degree and plagiarism is zero tolerance, you're out! Booking and going on holidays is a choice, so is passing modules. Priorities.

    Nubis Knight
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    How dumb are students nowadays? I got my exam 19 years ago and even than our profs informed us about their Google skills to check for plagiarism. Fast forward 19 years, the Google algorithm is even better and they think they'll get away with it? Haha!

    Moos
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I hate it when the writers make the story sound fake :( Even if there's some truth to all of this, the style makes it sound like revenge pr0n.

    Encyclopedia Purple
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Teachers are often considered authority figures but they put in a lot of time grading, they're workers. I think that's why people didn't like seeing him do this. They don't want to see it from his side.

    Memere
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I was thinking there also may be some jealousy that they didn't think of doing the same.

    Load More Replies...
    Ellie Rosser
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The zero mark on the grade would NOT be the appropriate punishment. The zero would be what the work was worth i.e. you did not write something new so you don't get the points allocated to having written something new. To be appropriately punished for the cheating part they need to ALSO be thrown out of school (as most have this written into the policies very sternly) or 'something else'. this teacher chose a 'something else' that allowed them to maybe learn a lesson and still stay in school. The fact he enjoyed it is irrelevant, but very human!

    Suz66
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    His boss didn't kick them out because they are afraid to have a legal battle. It wasn't his choice

    Load More Replies...
    Suz66
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I hope these cheaters learned by this. Professor took extra time to show them they can be caught again. The boss isn't doing society any favors by keeping those cheaters. If they know they can't be kicked out, they may keep cheating with a professor who isn't as savvy at catching them. They should have been kicked out and show zero tolerance. Frustrating for the professors.

    Craig Silberman
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Plagiarism is wrong, and should be punished, but why add insult to injury? Because they lied about their cheating? Jeez, just give them zeroes and tell them why and be done with it. Wasting his own time to humiliate them is just stupid and obnoxious.

    kathoco
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I agree. As a college professor, I can't imagine wasting my time (he says he spent hours with each student) like this. I just give cheaters each a 0. And if they ask why, I tell them that it was clear they had cheated but if they want to protest, we can take it to the displinary council and each of us can give our side of the story. That makes them go away.

    Load More Replies...
    DougalCat
    Community Member
    3 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I’m actually amazed that the uni didn’t want to do anything about it formally- when I was at med school, if there was even the smallest chance you cheated they made a huge deal out of it because it showed you may not have the honesty and integrity to be a doctor. There was even one guy who peed outside when he was super drunk and got caught and charged for ‘indecent exposure’ (I mean how many guys have peed on a tree at stupid o clock in the morning?) and he was asked by the uni to go away for a year and think about his maturity then had to come back into the year group below.

    Load More Comments
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