High Life: A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : Cheaters Never Win, But Winners Seldom Tell

You’ve stayed up half the night studying for your history exam. While you’ve read and outlined the chapters of your book and gone over--and over--your lecture notes and outlines, there’s, perhaps, one student who’s not losing a minute of sleep to preparation: the cheater.

Hot Topics wonders, “If you saw someone cheating on a test, what would you do? Why?”

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“I know the right thing to do would be to turn them in, but the fact is, it’s hard to do the right thing these days.”

Esther Jeng, 15,

sophomore, Edison

“I wouldn’t do anything. Society makes students feel uneasy if they tell on someone, even if that person isn’t their friend. If they tell, then they feel left out, not part of the group anymore.”

Gaio Do, 17,

senior, Garden Grove

“I would probably try to ignore it, but if they were talking and bugging me, I’d tell them to shut up loud enough so that everyone could hear and so they would be embarrassed.”

Cara Henson, 16,

junior, Brea-Olinda

“It would be hard to tell on them, but in the long run, they are only hurting themselves. If they did the test by themselves, without cheating, they would take pride in their work.”

Brandon Nybakken, 17,

senior, San Clemente

“Even though it is ethically wrong, I would probably remain silent and let it go. Some people have higher standards than others, and mine happen to be above cheating.”

Greg Wood, 18,

senior, Marina

“When I see someone cheating, I think of how they plan to get by in life. As long as a person knows it’s wrong and accepts the consequences, then it really doesn’t bother me. It’s their life; let them screw it up if that’s what they desire.”

Ramey Baker, 17,

senior, Buena Park

“I would do absolutely nothing except shake my head at them. It doesn’t bother me because I’m not competing with anyone else; I just feel better about myself because I’m not cheating. If I’m doing well, then I don’t care whether or not anyone else is (cheating).”

Kimberly Decker, 17,

senior, El Dorado

“I wouldn’t even bother with them because when they cheat they are just cheating themselves out of an education.”

Ghet Hong, 18,

senior, Los Amigos

“It depends on who it was. If it was someone that seemed like they were addicted to it, I’d report them, but if it was the one-time deal, I wouldn’t.”

Ryan Graham, 16,

junior, St. Margaret’s

“I would tell them not to cheat because they’re never going to learn, and if they have trouble they should get help.”

Adriana Migliore, 15,

sophomore, Katella

“I would either go to the teacher and mention it without mentioning names, or I would keep my mouth shut and let them suffer on the final.”

Tricia Yeh, 17,

senior, Huntington Beach

“Maybe ignore it, because if I was cheating on a test, I wouldn’t want somebody to tell on me.”

Stephanie Harrison, 16,

sophomore, La Habra

“I wouldn’t do anything. It’s their life. If they want to mess it up, let them.”

Steve Collins, 14,

freshman, Rancho Alamitos

“I wouldn’t do anything about it, but it would bother me. It’s the academic pressure.”

Susie Jsou, 17,

senior, University

“I wouldn’t say anything, because I wouldn’t want people to think I’m a snitch.”

Tiffany Strong, 14,

freshman, Garden Grove

“Turn them in, absolutely. Its immoral, unfair and disgusting. Not to mention the fact that cheaters skew curves and affect honest students’ grades. There is no excuse for that at all.”

Bree Hann, 17,

senior, Edison

“Leave them alone. After all, they’re only hurting themselves. Sooner or later, they’ll have to know the stuff without cheating and then we’ll see who laughs last. Ha!”

Peggy Chen, 17,

senior, Brea-Olinda

“I wouldn’t tell the teacher because that’s the (cheating) student’s problem. He has to learn the hard way sometimes. Like my father always said, ‘Cheaters never prosper.’ ”

Dustin Green, 15,

sophomore, San Clemente

“I would let it go, because it is not my responsibility to make the teacher aware of the cheating. It is also the student’s responsibility to uphold the ‘code of honor’ of the school and to refrain from such infringements.”

Albert Lin, 18,

senior, Marina

“It makes me mad when I see people cheating in my calculus class, but I don’t say anything because they have to live with their own conscience.”

David Campbell, 17,

senior, Buena Park

“If they’re sitting near me, I just give them a lot of dirty looks and say, ‘Why don’t you do your own work?’ ”

Elise Bauchwitz, 17,

senior, El Dorado

“After school I would go tell the teacher because if they continue to cheat, they wouldn’t learn anything and wouldn’t get a good education.”

Judy Truong, 14,

freshman, Los Amigos

“I wouldn’t tell on him; I’d just walk up to him and tell him that what he was doing was wrong.”

James Ling, 16,

junior, University

“I’d haunt the person for the rest of their life because cheating is not morally correct.”

Dean Kim, 16,

junior, St. Margaret’s

Next Week’s Hot Topic:

Do you think there is too much sex on TV and in the movies? Is it acceptable?