Referendum rejected
Gary Lowell
Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: Opinion
As I said in my final article last semester, I had proposed a referendum to the Student Government Association. If the SGA had voted to have the referendum happen, students would have been given a vote on anti-plagiarism tools that archive student work. The SGA did not vote to allow this referendum to happen, however; the vote was six in favor, five against, and two abstaining. Since the referendum needed a two thirds majority of the entire Senate to pass, it did not pass even though it received a majority of votes in favor.
Last Spring semester, I collected 1356 signatures, over one fifth of full-time undergraduates at the time, calling for a referendum on Turnitin.com. That referendum did not happen because Bridgewater State College decided on its own to switch to SafeAssign. Since SafeAssign is essentially the same thing as Turnitin.com, I thought that there should be a referendum on it. Instead collecting all the signatures again, I attempted to get a two thirds vote in the SGA Senate.
After the referendum was rejected by the SGA, I contemplated collecting all of the signatures again to make the referendum happen. I have come to the conclusion, however, that I do not have the time to collect all of the signatures. When collecting the signatures last Spring semester, I spent most of my free time going around asking for signatures. I have more commitments now than I had then, so I simply do not have the time required to collect all the signatures.
As I have said in previous articles in The Comment, I have a problem with the archiving of student work by anti-plagiarism tools. As a result, using such anti-plagiarism tools would go against my beliefs, and I would not do it. I have had two professors that requested I use Turnitin.com, which is the functional equivalent of SafeAssign. I requested not to use it, saying that I was uncomfortable about the archiving, and both professors were kind enough to grant me an exemption.
According to Dr. Howard London, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, however, professors are given the authority to require students to use SafeAssign. If a student were to request an exemption, and the professor would not grant it, the professor would have the authority to give the student an F. I asked Dr. London if it is final if a professor refuses to allow an exemption to using SafeAssign. Dr. London said that "[y]ou can appeal to the department chair, but if the department chair is in agreement most likely it is going to stop there.
Last Spring semester, I collected 1356 signatures, over one fifth of full-time undergraduates at the time, calling for a referendum on Turnitin.com. That referendum did not happen because Bridgewater State College decided on its own to switch to SafeAssign. Since SafeAssign is essentially the same thing as Turnitin.com, I thought that there should be a referendum on it. Instead collecting all the signatures again, I attempted to get a two thirds vote in the SGA Senate.
After the referendum was rejected by the SGA, I contemplated collecting all of the signatures again to make the referendum happen. I have come to the conclusion, however, that I do not have the time to collect all of the signatures. When collecting the signatures last Spring semester, I spent most of my free time going around asking for signatures. I have more commitments now than I had then, so I simply do not have the time required to collect all the signatures.
As I have said in previous articles in The Comment, I have a problem with the archiving of student work by anti-plagiarism tools. As a result, using such anti-plagiarism tools would go against my beliefs, and I would not do it. I have had two professors that requested I use Turnitin.com, which is the functional equivalent of SafeAssign. I requested not to use it, saying that I was uncomfortable about the archiving, and both professors were kind enough to grant me an exemption.
According to Dr. Howard London, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, however, professors are given the authority to require students to use SafeAssign. If a student were to request an exemption, and the professor would not grant it, the professor would have the authority to give the student an F. I asked Dr. London if it is final if a professor refuses to allow an exemption to using SafeAssign. Dr. London said that "[y]ou can appeal to the department chair, but if the department chair is in agreement most likely it is going to stop there.
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