Academic Misconduct: A slap on the wrist or a punch in the gut?

Photo courtesy of the Internet

The University of Oklahoma makes something very clear. Do Not Cheat labels are peppered over everything, on tests, papers, and quizzes, causing students and teachers to take the issue very seriously. But what consequences are actually being used and what is a myth?  Does the administration use tactics to scare or to punish? And are students looking to cheating as a way to ease stress as finals approach?
On OU's website, there is a special portion dedicated to the code of conduct, and how a teacher has the right to report the student or not.  
"An instructor who determines that a student is responsible for an act of misconduct may impose an admonition (warning) plus a grade penalty and/or remedial work, without filing a charge of academic misconduct."

Cameron Newton, photo courtesy of tigerx.com

While I agree that a teacher should be able to turn a student in or not, the code of conduct does not have specific punishments for every type of cheating. Students may be unaware of what cheating actually entails and where to draw the line between quoting and plagiarism. 
Cam Newton, the current quarterback for Auburn, located in Alabama, was recently exposed as a cheater, citing incidents from his time at the University of Florida, where he was caught cheating three times. Although he was punished, Cam Newton still moved to Auburn and became a Heisman Trophy contender. How can three cheating offenses still allow this student to go to a nice school in Alabama? Each case is treated differently, and sometimes it isn't fair.
Although OU students sign a contract every year, many students get away with a slap on the wrist for serious offenses against the university for cheating on exams, papers and quizzes. So what defines the ultimate punishment. Jessica, a junior at OU who was caught cheating on a homework assignment freshman year, says that her punishment was to receive a zero on her homework assignment and her teacher said that she had no chances left. If she messed up again, she was out. 
    "It was definitely a slap to the face. It made me realize what I could lose if I continued to try and do stuff like that."
while Jessica got off easy, other students aren't so lucky.  
But as finals and classes get harder, more and more students are turning to cheating to relieve stress and get their homework and assignments done. Rachel Barclay, a nursing major at the OU health and Science Center, says that although cheating would be way easier, ethically she has more standards. 
    "With the stress that I'm under right now, I wish I could just get a break and cheat. But ethically, I can't justify taking someone else's work and labeling it as my own. I also wouldn't feel like I really earned my grade for the assignment."
  While some students approach the idea of cheating with an open mind as they get more and more stressed out, the university needs to use better methods when it comes to punishments of cheating and stress management.

A few minutes with Ray Bribiesca

Mr. Bribiesca gesturing about his times in the Middle East to
students at Gaylord College. 

Ray Bribiesca does not mince words. As a veteran of the Vietnam War and a dedicated cameraman for 60 Minutes, he has a grim reality of what his job entails, and how easily it can all be taken away. The journalism students at Gaylord had an opportunity to hear Mr. Bribiesca's stories and ask questions last Monday, the day before he was sent on assignment to Yemen, to capture film and travel one last time with his coworkers at 60 Minutes.

Mr. Bribiesca didn't waste any time at the beginning of the session, merely letting his work show what he does for months at a time: attempt to get the perfect camera shot, while trying not to be riddled with bullets. On the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, a small, dangerous military base for American troops stands alone in the desert. The men and women who are sent to this area know the dangers of the area, but civilians living in America have no idea how dangerous and terrible this region is for American soldiers. Thanks to the efforts of Ray and his reporter, we saw what terrible conditions these men and women live in. In one scene, while the troops were coming home from trying to help a small village with some repairs, their truck stalled from trying to get over a big rock, and everyone was forced to get out of the car to push it over. Within minutes, the area was surrounded and men from enemy troops started shooting at them. Instead of running for cover, Mr. Bribiesca went out into the line of fire, trying desperately to get the shots that he needed to make the story. He didn't miss a beat. 

·            "Crazy shots are a part of the business.  I wanted to get those shots of the soldier’s faces to make it more personal." 

Mr. Bribiesca talking to the students after viewing one of his
segments on 60 Minutes.

Ray first started taking classes to be a cameraman in Oklahoma City, going to Oklahoma City College to earn his degree. From there, he started working for Channel 9, and eventually landed a job with 60 Minutes. He has traveled all over the world, from taking pictures of caribou coming over the mountains in Alaska (that picture took him 10 years to get) to going to the Middle East and covering the war news there. He has been wounded multiple times, and taken hostage once. It's very clear that this man is tough. 

Mr. Bribiesca is going to Yemen on one last assignment for 60 Minutes, over the troubling problems in Yemen, where many soldiers from the Middle East travel to be trained. While he is cautious, he knows what the job entails and how to twist and turn with every new discovery. Although he is leaving his job now, we can certainly expect him to do amazing things somewhere else. After all, to quote his signature line. "You’re only as good as your last story.”