Harvard Undergrad Author Accused of Plagiarism
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Author of the book, "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life", Kaavya Viswanathan, a Harvard undergraduate student, has been disgraced with accusations of plagiarism.
Student's Novel Faces Plagiarism Controversy
As a result of this claim, her novel has been pulled from the market. So I reckon there'll be a mad dash to grab a copy of her book!
And, as if the accusation isn't bad enough, she's now facing a 2nd plagiarism claim.
Harvard author Kaavya Viswanathan faces second plagiarism claim
Has anyone here, by any chance, read her book? -
she was being feted just a short while back ....
but I guess she's a typical asian over achiever ... too much parental pressure ... too competitive ... but not enough ethics education ... I won't be surprised that her parents have a hand in this too ... -
Shouldn't there be a mad rush to demand refunds instead? Why would people want to read a book written by a cheat?Originally posted by Rhonda:Author of the book, "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life", Kaavya Viswanathan, a Harvard undergraduate student, has been disgraced with accusations of plagiarism.
As a result of this claim, her novel has been pulled from the market. So I reckon there'll be a mad dash to grab a copy of her book!
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Well, asians generally believe that the ends justify the means, which is why so many of them believe there is nothing wrong in cheating as long as they don't get caught.Originally posted by Fatum:she was being feted just a short while back ....
but I guess she's a typical asian over achiever ... too much parental pressure ... too competitive ... but not enough ethics education ... I won't be surprised that her parents have a hand in this too ... -
U mean to say ang mo people generally dun cheat?Originally posted by av98m:Well, asians generally believe that the ends justify the means, which is why so many of them believe there is nothing wrong in cheating as long as they don't get caught. -
We all want to know how she cheats mah...Originally posted by av98m:Shouldn't there be a mad rush to demand refunds instead? Why would people want to read a book written by a cheat? -
There might be a demand for her book instead cause consumers might be fuelled by curiosity over the scandal.Originally posted by av98m:Shouldn't there be a mad rush to demand refunds instead? Why would people want to read a book written by a cheat?
Also, since they've stopped publishing and distributing her book, it will lead to no more supplies, and the curious peeps who still wanna read her book might just pay to get hold of a copy.
Afterall, scandals and other negatively newsworthy topics always attract attention. There are too many bored nosey-parkers around! -
av, remember the local banning of Salman Rushdie's book, "Satanic Verses"? Well, the minute it came out in the local papers that a ban on the book was being enforced, mom said, "Quick! Let's go see if we could grab a copy!" and I was enthusiastic about this too so we rushed down to the nearest bookstore - a 2nd hand bookstore at Holland Rd Shopping Ctr, to try out luck.
The boss there told us that we were one of a horde of folks who asked for that book that day!
So, see!
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They do! But maybe, they cover up better!Originally posted by Xcert:U mean to say ang mo people generally dun cheat? -
They do. But we're generally better at it, and more blatant about it.Originally posted by Xcert:U mean to say ang mo people generally dun cheat? -
Can you believe the 'excuse' the disgraced author gave?
"When I sat down to write my novel, my only intention was to tell the story of Opal," she said in a statement earlier this week. "I was so surprised and horrified when I found these similarities."
Extracted from : http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1685406,00110004.htm
And, this :
"When I was in high school, I read and loved two wonderful novels by Megan McCafferty, Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings, which spoke to me in a way few other books did. Recently, I was very surprised and upset to learn that there are similarities between some passages in my novel and passages in these books," Viswanathan, 19, said in a statement issued by her publisher on Monday.
"While the central stories of my book and hers are completely different, I wasn't aware of how much I may have internalised Ms McCafferty's words. I am a huge fan of her work and can honestly say that any phrasing similarities between her works and mine were completely unintentional and unconscious. My publisher and I plan to revise my novel for future printings to eliminate any inappropriate similarities.
Extracted from : http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1683923,00110004.htm
I've read and loved several books but when I write, I don't think I'm able to capture some of the paragraphs I've read, almost verbatim!
What a load of hogwash!
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GMTA! *high 5's!Originally posted by av98m:They do. But we're generally better at it, and more blatant about it. 
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*piak!*Originally posted by Rhonda:GMTA! *high 5's! -
I think that girl will do well in life. She already shows herself to have the makings of a weasel. Perhaps she can become a lawyer or go into politics. And the fact that the negative publicity boosted the sales of her books shows how screwed up society is.
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well ... I shall not name the countries of origin ... but I have quite a few stories to tell ... like the time I was sitting for an economics paper, and they caught the two chaps sitting to the right of me with smuggled notes ... (they look like me, know what I mean ? ... I was watched very closely for the rest of the exam of course .. it's blatant stereotyping, but heck, perhaps it's understandable ... )Originally posted by av98m:Well, asians generally believe that the ends justify the means, which is why so many of them believe there is nothing wrong in cheating as long as they don't get caught.
or chaps who copied assignments and were caught ... they now have those spiffy little programs that detect similaritities in code and essays ...
and then there's this chap from an immigrant family, who father is a well-known prof in the med school here ... (hint: they came from a society where it's very prestigious to be doctors) ... caught cheating on a micro-bio exam ... a pre-req subject to get into med school ....
a student friend of mine who sits on one of the academic disciplinary committees told me privately that asians are over-represented among the cases he's sat in on ... (he's an asian international student himself) ...
somehow, in the race to get ahead and to please our parents ... ethics got left behind ... remember the cheating cases involving Singaporean students in some australian universities, reported by the papers here ? ... looks like we're catching up on others on this score ....
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Y'know, I was just wondering last night - she's been discovered to have plagiarised three books so far.
What IF she had actually been plagiarising from more books but she's yet to be exposed? -
Read some news reports that people are now looking into articles she wrote for her high school paper
and her publisher has permanently pulled her book. there will be no "revised editions". 2nd book is cancelled as well.
even renowned author salmon rushdi has come out to say that there is no way she could have "accidentally" included so many portions of the same book into her novel. -
would she be kicked out of harvard ? ...Originally posted by av98m:Read some news reports that people are now looking into articles she wrote for her high school paper
and her publisher has permanently pulled her book. there will be no "revised editions". 2nd book is cancelled as well.
but seriously, I'm not surprised ... read my above post ... I'm telling you her parents have a hand in this too ... they probably run a concentration camp at home for their kids ... "get into med school or else" .... "get into law school or elsse " ... "get into harvard or else" .... -
Well, you and I have read books that have had a great influence on our lives too, but can we remember portions of the book well enough to reproduce it almost verbatim, with a little tweaking here and there?Originally posted by av98m:Read some news reports that people are now looking into articles she wrote for her high school paper
and her publisher has permanently pulled her book. there will be no "revised editions". 2nd book is cancelled as well.
even renowned author salmon rushdi has come out to say that there is no way she could have "accidentally" included so many portions of the same book into her novel.
It definitely cannot be 'accidental', as she claims. To reproduce paragraphs that are so close to the original, you really have to have the books in front of you and copy from them!
Who would ever want to believe the authenticity of her writings ever again? The publisher did a wise thing by cancelling her 2nd book.
She has got quite a nerve to copy other writers' works so blatantly! -
Well, Harvard is hemming and hawing over this issue I think..although quite frankly unless she plagarised or cheated her way through high school and got someone to ghost write her harvard application, perhaps she might get a second chance? But you can bet her professors will be going through all her papers with a fine tooth comb!Originally posted by Fatum:would she be kicked out of harvard ? ...
but seriously, I'm not surprised ... read my above post ... I'm telling you her parents have a hand in this too ... they probably run a concentration camp at home for their kids ... "get into med school or else" .... "get into law school or elsse " ... "get into harvard or else" .... -
This is so disturbing!Originally posted by Fatum:well ... I shall not name the countries of origin ... but I have quite a few stories to tell ... like the time I was sitting for an economics paper, and they caught the two chaps sitting to the right of me with smuggled notes ... (they look like me, know what I mean ? ... I was watched very closely for the rest of the exam of course .. it's blatant stereotyping, but heck, perhaps it's understandable ... )
or chaps who copied assignments and were caught ... they now have those spiffy little programs that detect similaritities in code and essays ...
and then there's this chap from an immigrant family, who father is a well-known prof in the med school here ... (hint: they came from a society where it's very prestigious to be doctors) ... caught cheating on a micro-bio exam ... a pre-req subject to get into med school ....
a student friend of mine who sits on one of the academic disciplinary committees told me privately that asians are over-represented among the cases he's sat in on ... (he's an asian international student himself) ...
somehow, in the race to get ahead and to please our parents ... ethics got left behind ... remember the cheating cases involving Singaporean students in some australian universities, reported by the papers here ? ... looks like we're catching up on others on this score .... 
It's so sad that now, our region is notorious, just because of a few unethical idiots. 
Some of us are going to have to work that much harder to earn credibility and trust, y'know! -
The School Board has a really really tough decision to make. Imagine this though - would they want anyone to tarnish the name of Harvard? Would they want a dishonest cheat to graduate from their prestigious University and henceforth become known as "THE Harvard grad who plagiarised"?Originally posted by av98m:Well, Harvard is hemming and hawing over this issue I think..although quite frankly unless she plagarised or cheated her way through high school and got someone to ghost write her harvard application, perhaps she might get a second chance? But you can bet her professors will be going through all her papers with a fine tooth comb!
I'm sure their alumni would have lots to say on this issue too. -
getting into harvard is not just about high SAT scores .... it's about ECA's too ... and if part of her ECA's was writing for the high school paper ... then it's cheating and dishonesty, and she got her place in harvard through mis-representation, no ? ...Originally posted by av98m:Well, Harvard is hemming and hawing over this issue I think..although quite frankly unless she plagarised or cheated her way through high school and got someone to ghost write her harvard application, perhaps she might get a second chance? But you can bet her professors will be going through all her papers with a fine tooth comb!
somehow I'm not sorry for her ... perhaps it's because I've seen too many students with questionable academic ethics in the U .... -
Well, why should we feel sorry for someone who stole others' ideas and works and tried to pass it off as her own?Originally posted by Fatum:getting into harvard is not just about high SAT scores .... it's about ECA's too ... and if part of her ECA's was writing for the high school paper ... then it's cheating and dishonesty, and she got her place in harvard through mis-representation, no ? ...
somehow I'm not sorry for her ... perhaps it's because I've seen too many students with questionable academic ethics in the U ....
She enjoyed her embellishments but it's not entirely her hard work. It's time for her to face the music now. There's no excuse for plagiarism. Give credit where it's due! -
Anyway she's damned lucky the author she plagarised is a much nicer person than she is. She has already told the press she has no intention to sue.