# Girl who sued school to be valdictorian caught plagarizing. Hee. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 6, 2003, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055 "2003-06-06T12:03:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055/21 "2003-06-06T14:36:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by whiterabbit \* > \*\*If somehow she does manage to get through Harvard (can you say ANOTHER lawsuit? Or more?), who the HELL is going to hire her? She’d be WAAAAY more trouble than she’s worth. \*\* You didn’t list **FairyChatMom** as your source. I’m afraid you have no other option but to sue the message board. ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055/22 "2003-06-06T14:54:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MsRobyn \* > \*\*Just because there are no footnotes or endnotes in a newspaper article doesn’t mean that her sources couldn’t be cited. Has the girl never heard of internal citations? > \*\* Amen! Dude, that whole “I’m not a professional journalist, I’m a 17-year-old kid” excuse made me want to put my foot clean up her ass! I don’t suppose it needs to be said, but _anyone_ who’s made it through High School English, if the teacher and the student had half a brain between them, knows what plagiarism is and isn’t by the time s/he graduates. Deep breaths . . . deeeeeeeep breaths . . . . ---
**Author:** ![lilbtagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4491bb/32.png) [@lilbtagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lilbtagna)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055/23 "2003-06-06T15:02:20Z")
Ugh, this makes me sick. It almost makes me glad that my school had so many valedictorians when I graduated so none of this ultra-competitive crap happened. If she were truly deserving of being the top student in her class, surely she understands what constitutes as plagarized. I hope she gets what she really deserves. ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055/24 "2003-06-06T15:09:59Z")
I hope so too. I fear that she won’t, if only because the world rarely works out the way I want it to. And I started writing for papers when I was sixteen, and I knew DAMN well how to cite sources, and my editors made sure too. But then, what do I know, I only go to Dartmouth. (I also can’t help but think back to how many times on the boards I’ve answered ‘what does it take to get into an Ivy.’ Funny, I never would’ve thought dishonesty, an arrogant sense of entitlement, and general idiocy were on the list…) ---
**Author:** ![aurelian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f4b2a3/32.png) [@aurelian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurelian)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055/25 "2003-06-06T16:23:52Z")
> [@](#): > > "Hornstine sought to explain her actions in a column printed alongside the correction in yesterday’s Courier-Post. She wrote that she was not aware of the paper’s “strict citation scrutiny” and thought sourcing rules for journalism were more lax “because there was no place for footnotes or endnotes.” This really does boggle the mind if you stop to think about the implications of her statement. As already mentioned, it means that the valedictorian, the ‘best’ (on some level) student in the school is unaware of the basic rules for citations. This is incomprehensible! According to [Courier Post](http://www.courierpostonline.com/) , she was a member of the debate team for three years (in addition to being an Olympic torchbearer), and did, indeed, take English classes. It would be impossible to get through an English class, most likely AP, without learning how to cite. What’s more, today’s article mentions that the citations were “uncredited”, so not only did she not cite the source (book, year), she didn’t even cite the _person speaking_. So it wasn’t just that she didn’t think it necessary to include a parenthetical reference (Clinton, 203); she didn’t include “Clinton said:…” Sorry, that “strict citation scrutiny” has nothing to do with the newspaper in particular; these are fundamental standards for **all** non-fiction writing. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055/26 "2003-06-06T16:43:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Max Carnage \* > \*\*You didn’t list **FairyChatMom** as your source. I’m afraid you have no other option but to sue the message board. \*\* Nobody TOLD me I had to cite her! Otherwise I’d have used a footnote! ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055/27 "2003-06-06T16:56:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by aurelian \* > \*\*It would be impossible to get through an English class, most likely AP, without learning how to cite. \*\* Or, more accurately, without learning that _citing is necessary_. Sounds to me like she blew off the whole notion. So to speak. Besides, **aurelian** , it’s not so incomprehensible if you accept the idea that she was lying her ass off. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055/28 "2003-06-06T17:14:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by andygirl \* > \*\*what do I know, I only go to Dartmouth. > \*\* Hey! It’s 11:09 in the morning! How come you’re still sober enough to type? ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055/29 "2003-06-06T17:17:59Z")
I just thought of something - wouldn’t it be cool if she were a member here? Why, she’d wade into GD and make some kind of statement, and then someone would ask her for a cite, and then she’d say… “I didn’t know we needed them, why there’s no place to put them…” And then a Pit thread would be begun . . . ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055/30 "2003-06-06T18:30:44Z")
Say, doesn’t Harvard pull off those really elaborate and clever pranks every year, or is that MIT? In any case, I’m sure she knows not where she treads. And, for that matter, neither do I. _shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055/31 "2003-06-06T18:51:10Z")
Bwaaaaahaahaahaahaahaahaahaahaahaahaahaa!!! Loooooooove it, absolutely loooooove it! Does she still get to be Valedictorian? Whadda maroon! ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055/32 "2003-06-06T18:55:16Z")
Oh ,sorry. Make that Sole Valedictorian. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055/33 "2003-06-06T19:34:21Z")
No, I don’t have any cites. I just find it hard to believe that if her parents were teaching her the right things that she would have gone through all the trouble of a lawsuit and then feign ignorance about the citation rules. It just sounds like she’s misguided. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055/34 "2003-06-06T19:43:22Z")
Kalhoun, she could have been brought up right but ignored all of the teachings, as high school kids do on occasion. Perhaps this is her way of “acting out”; perhaps, even, that her ego and arrogance simply surpassed any common sense. ---
**Author:** ![g8rguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@g8rguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/g8rguy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055/35 "2003-06-06T19:43:28Z")
Well, that made _my_ week. **andygirl** in case no one’s told you this recently, you rock! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055/36 "2003-06-06T19:48:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joe K \* > \*\*Say, doesn’t Harvard pull off those really elaborate and clever pranks every year, or is that MIT? > \*\* That’s MIT. We pull them on Harvard. [Like here](http://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/by_topic/harvard.html) ---
**Author:** ![jeevmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@jeevmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeevmon)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055/37 "2003-06-06T20:09:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kalhoun \* > \*\*No, I don’t have any cites. I just find it hard to believe that if her parents were teaching her the right things that she would have gone through all the trouble of a lawsuit and then feign ignorance about the citation rules. It just sounds like she’s misguided. \*\* Well, school officials say that the girl’s father said that he was going to manipulate the rules designed for disabled students to allow his daughter to become valedictorian. [Cite](http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/local/5937862.htm). If that is the case (can’t remember if the judge didn’t believe the school or didn’t care), then he’s certainly not teaching the right values. I mean, you do have to question the values of parents who would sue so that their daughter wouldn’t have to share top honors with other people. That’s just sick. ---
**Author:** ![jb\_007clone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@jb\_007clone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_007clone)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055/38 "2003-06-06T21:10:19Z")
Maybe she should work for the New York Times! Oh, I’m too funny! And, I’m spent. ---
**Author:** ![Quantum\_Butterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e79b87/32.png) [@Quantum\_Butterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quantum_Butterfly)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055/39 "2003-06-06T21:18:35Z")
It’s stuff like this that gives disabled people a bad reputation. My sister and I both have to deal with disability; she with chronic pain syndrome, me with epilepsy. Whether or not this girl intended to abuse the system, the damage has been done. In a time when budgets for disability assistance are already on the chopping block, people will look at cases like this and say “Why should we keep these programs if people just abuse them for their own selfish interests?” Meanwhile, my sister and I struggle. It’s sad. On a lighter note, thanks for the link **Voyager**! Wonder if Cal Tech does similar stuff… ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055/40 "2003-06-06T21:25:13Z")
Here’s my big question about the whole thing: so this girl has some immune disorder (though no one has ever said exactly which one–I suspect it’s something vague and subjective like chronic fatigue syndrome rather than an actual immunopathology) that has rendered her unable to get through a full day at her high school. How in holy hell is she ever planning to get through Harvard? I’m sorry, but they won’t let her mom come and teach classes for her in her dorm room. As for the plagiarism, I know schadenfreude is unattractive, but it’s nice to see the universe work like it’s supposed to every now and then. Dr. J [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girl-who-sued-school-to-be-valdictorian-caught-plagarizing-hee/180055.md?page=3)