1996_05 Insight May 1996

              PAGE 4
Lifestyle
MAY 15,1996
Survey shows 70 percent have cheated at least once
I Pressure to pass
tempts students to
resort to dishonesty
by Israel Carrasco
Staff Writer
Alyssa squinted through the dark
ness to read the digital cl.
kitchen table. It read 12:
bright flm
the
Alyssa settled on a tactic that
tinues to frustrate professors, embarrass parents and even get students
tossed out of school.
She'll cheat.
Alyssa.who is 23-year-old student
at California State University. Fresno
siudeni. declined to give her real
name. But her story could Iv about
ariyone.
1990-UI cheating survey by as-
tie professor Donald McCabe of
In fe\
taking her \
Waiiressi
taking 22 u
: Ih.,.:
miction
n lull ol
she would    percent of college siudenis cheated ai
McCabe questioned 6.(KX) siudeii
>ii 31 VS. campuses.
Cheating for better grades
"Cheating hurls everyone." s
Alan Button, professor of psychology
al Iresno Slate with a Ph.D. from
Stanford University.
"Students simply cheat to get a better grade." he said. "Grades have become so important nowadays lhal siudenis feel there's no alternative but to
cheat-
Fraudulent and deceptive acts
Ireioio State broadly defines cheating as "ihe practice of fraudulent or
deceptive acts for the purpose of improving a grade or obtaining course
credit."
. Plagiarism is using another
person's words without giving credit
or representing the material used as
one's own work, a policy handout
staled.
"It's just a really dangerous char
acter trait to establish." Button said
Victor B. Olivares. judicial affairs
officer at the Siudeni Affairs office,
said students cheat for several reasons: pressure to get a higher grade,
pressure from parents and poor time
management skills.
"Many students don't realize they
are cheating because of the diHerein
cultural values that leach sharing is
acceptable." Olivares said.
During his 35 years of leaching
psychology. Button said he has caught
nine students cheating.
Indisputable evidence
In all cases, he said he had "incontrovertible'' evidence the siudenis
were guilly.
drawal from lhc c
in ihe course.
Billion did not ih
isirators out of concern for the students' parents.
Ultimately the cheaters, which
were all athletes, decided io turn
themselves in to their coaches. Button said.
Billion, now retired, said Fresno
Slate docs noi require instructors to
turn in siudenis suspected ot cheat-
increasingly, thc methods
have become more sophisticated.
Test-taking tactics
John, a Fresno Slate student who
dcchiiedjo reveal his identity, said he
h pes ourTiiiswcis on a computer and
prints them oui from a laser printer in
extreme*) small type.
I le then stuffs the paper in ihe cull
of a long-sleeved shirt.
•If you bring down the font size,
vou call eel three essays on a 3 by 5
rard.**hesaid
Iicsiio Slale siudeni IVrek Orchard
believes cheating is beneficial in cer-
"ll siudenis [with learning dis
See CHEATING, page 5
Cheaters
-I-.   Never
Prosper
Faking It
Phony IDs the key to bar scene
by Dawn Howe
Staff Writer
card from a bouncer who had eonf
from anoiher underage indis idual.
One evening, while ihis student
bar. ihe Alcoholic Beverage Cl
It's Friday night and once again Kai<
Westerfield. 18. watches her friends gel ready     I ABC I board came
to go to ihe bars. While ihey put on their make-     customer's identification,
up and finest clothes, she lathers on a facial
mask and wraps up in a ragged old bathrobe.
She knows soon she will be left at home —
alone.
Westerfield. a California State University.
Fresno student, finds herself without ■■
a satisfying social life.
"It's really hard. The majority of my
friends are older and whether I drink
or like the bar scene or not. it's where
they hang out.
"I want lo get a fake ID so that I
can go out and so I don'l always has e
to hear about the fun everyone else
had," Westerfield said.
Westerfield is nol alone in her situation.
Other students, usually freshmen or sopho
mores, long to be just a few years older.
For some, a fake identification is the solu
checked
"My fake ID worked thai night, but I w.
lie. I was scared and didn't use it again. Il
huge risk." the student said
Sou Speidel. 22. an anim
al Fresno State, does not beli
It's so easy that it isn 7 even funny.
All you have to do is go to L.A. You can
get a full-on, imprinted ID for $50."
to obtain a false identification card.
"It's so easy thai il isn't even funny. All yc
have to do is go to LA. You can gel a full-i
imprinted ID for $50." Speidel said.
then, it doesn't really matter thai    prove who ihey are
According loCruz. many ofthe fraudulent
California identifications that the ABC board
has found were from manufactures in the Los
Angeles area.
"False IDs aren't a major problem at this
time in Fresno. A major manufacturer was
shut down, but we still watch for IDs that are
false or altered.
"Most ofthe false identifications we see are
:e major    borrowed from a friend or a brother or sister,
difficult    What people don't realize is that it is a mis-
mmmmm^hm    demeanor to loan an identification."
Cruz said.
The crime can be punishable by a
minimum fine of S250 or imprisonment. Fine* are typically accompanied by 24-32 hours of community
service.
If a false identification is presented
to a peace officer, the offender will betaken to jail for finger printing and
booking. .
"At that time, offenders are taken to jail
because their identity is in question. If they
who they say they are. they must
other way." Cruz
— Scott Speidel
n carded until I \
State found it easy to get a fake ID. Friends Ironic, but lucky." he said,
helped to steam the plastic cover open and Despite some students belief that obtain-
then alter the information on a California driv- ing and using a fake ID is easy, il's still against
crs license. The license was re-heated and Ihe law.
sealed shut. Offenders can go to jail for using false iden-
The identification worked at several bars lilicalion.
and was not questioned., Joseph Cruz, supervising invcsiigator for ihe     dividuals. or that knowingly serve alcohol
Another student, now 21 years old and an Alcohol Beverage Control board, is serious     those under 21. can lose their liquor license
education major, received an identification about cracking down on those who use them.      for up to one year.
said.
The manufactures of fake IDs are also subject to being charged with a misdemeanor.
The businesses that serve or sell to underage patrons stand to lose more ihan the individual.
Businesses found negligent in carding ii
Cutting clothes' cost:
Wear 'em, return 'em
by Michelle Barghi
Staff Writer
The big job interview is coming up.
funds are pretty tight and those high school
graduation duds aren't going lo cut il.
The solution is as simple as a swipe of
the Visa. Buy il. wear it. look dashing and
then return it.
Jocelyn Henrique. 23. admitted to the
practice of wearing it once and taking it
back.
"I had a wedding to attend and nothing
nice to wear. I went and picked out two
outfits and decided which one I'd wear
later. After the wedding, they went right
back where they came from." Henrique
said with a grin.
"Thc cashier didn't ask me if 1 wore it
or not, she just took ihem both back and
credited my charge account." Henrique
said.
Sandy Slaymaker has worked in customer service at Nordstroms in Pleasanton.
Ca., for nine years.
She says the return policy is "no prob
lem."        „
"We take everything back, no matter
what. If it's been worn, we can't resell il
but worn items are laken back also. I had a
woman once who brought back something
with an Honors lag attached. I knew it was
a Target brand, and I still took it back. She
said. 'I got it as a gift from my sister, and
she would never shop at Target.'"
Slaymaker said.
"We'll just have to agree on a fair price
thc customer will accept and give them
their money back if ihey do not want an
exchange." she said.
Jennifer Drubner. media relations specialist for Nordstroms in Northern California, said Nordstroms does have a "very
welcoming" return policy.
"We take everything back, no questions
asked, with or without a receipt." said
Drubner. "If a customer brings something
back, we return it. Every situation in our
store is treated case by case, depending on
the circumstances. You've heard about the
set of tires." Drubner said.
The sei of tires Drubner referred to was
returned to Nordstroms by a customer lhat
received a refund. Nordstroms does not
carry tires in any of their 72 stores nationwide.
Nordstroms writes off this type of merchandise as a loss.
of a
ich.ui
s' policy facilitates reluming
Patrons have abused this by bringing in
clothes thai not only have been worn bul
are also stained, torn and dirty.
The trend is seen in most retail stores.
Anted Quitoriano. a fashion merchandising major at California State University. Fresno, has worked in Macy's men's
department in Fresno for two years.
"There was a customer who bought a
shirt and returned it the very next day with
a big dirt stain down the side ofthe shirt.
He said he was playing baseball and got it
dirty. We had lo return it because he had
"Another lime. I got a call from the
junior's department needing my help. A
woman wauled to return the jeans she had
on because there was a hole in the butt.
We had lo do it because she had her receipt. She went in the dressing room and
switched jeans, right there." Quitoriano
said.
Macy 's has invested millions of dollars
trying to prevent fraud.
Cash register receipts are treated with
a special ink that lurns yellow when
touched io prevent lake receipts from being used. Bar codes are printed on each
receipt allow ing the cashier to bring up ihe
transaction on the computer from months
before.
Michelle Brown, a mass communication
and journalism major at Fresno State, has
worked in retail iliroughout college. Brown
was employed bv KidsMart and
Weinstock's, both of which are now
closed.
"I would have people try lo return stuff
that was ragged and worn or with makeup around the collar. If they had a receipt.
I'd have to return it. but I'd call my manger o\er to deal with it. One time a woman
was returning a purple silk suit that had
ihe dry cleaner's tag still inside, even
though she said she had never worn it."
Soi
rchandise return polic
Higher priced brands like Guess and
Polo require that the retailer has a receipt
in addition to all lags from the merchandise. Levi's mandates that only three pairs
of jeans are sold at once lo prevent their
product from being resold on lhc black
market.
*
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