THE YOUTH VOTEvccecccserscserecsereerereerererseeed Young Canadians are becoming more interested in politics and apparently voting more ax SY aa .] i \-48 \A NEWSPAPER A THE YEAR y 4 FINALIST \J = TWO-YEAR WEEKLY | q xy 7 == a a SS Le \ 4 ‘ YN A class full of students studying at Langara, where incidents of cheating are expected to rise in 2016. Colleges attempting to find ways to suppress academic misconduct le CHANTELLE DEACON photo 66 By BONNIE LEE LA MADELEINE ue to a dramatic increase in cheating on campus, Langara faculty and administrators are exploring news ways to make The cut- and-paste phenom- cheating, and buying papers online less ; tempting. enon ts At Langara College, the number of really real students reported for cheating more than doubled in 2015. About five per cent MAGGIE ROSS of students are thought to cheat. Maggie MANAGER OF Ross, manager of student conduct and STUDENT judicial affairs, expects incidents in 2016 CONDUCTAND to eclipse those from 2015. seo re eT ANGARS “The cut-and-paste phenomenon is really real,” Ross said. For Josué Menjivar teaching for the web and mobile app design and develop- ment program, said it’s a challenge be- cause students exchange ID numbers and passwords to download and copy assignments. Menjivar said he puts key parts of the course material in bold so students know what to study for exams, and do not feel they need to cheat. “IT want them to learn,” he said. Spencer Dane, chair of business man- agement and international business at Langara, said his program aims to help students acculturate to the program’s expectations. “Some international students come with different expectations and cultural perspectives of how school works,” Dane said. Kim Lam, student advisor in the com- puter science program, said reporting a single student consumes hours of his time, so he changed the way he teaches and approaches cheating. The teachers complain about how much time it takes to report students but they still do it, Ross said. “Tt’s all our reputations at stake if we don’t address, and we’re not seen to be addressing, it,” she said. “If Langara be- came known as a college of cheaters, what does that do to your credentials?” Over at UBC, where they are also dealing with cheating, Paul Harrison, associate dean of student services said better communication between teach- ers and students has helped stem cheat- ing at UBC. “Pay more attention to first trying to help students understand what the ex- pectations are of working in an academ- ic community,” he said. Students risk their reputations College students, includ- ing students at Langara, are resorting to cheating to obtain a higher GPA By MELANIE GREEN else to write essays on their behalf run the risk of being reported to the college for cheating— by the very person they hired. John Smith, who asked not to be iden- tified by his real name because he rec- ognizes the moral hazard, is the head of a service in which students can pay for academic essays to be written. These services, known as ‘paper mills,’ are a multi-million-dollar industry across North America. Le: students who pay someone i) Smith said one of the biggest issues for students using ‘paper mills’ is that they sometimes get reported to their schools if they refuse to pay. Smith said that many Langara stu- dents come to him for his service. Maggie Ross, chair of the judicial committee at Langara, said ghostwrit- ers report students frequently, but that doesn’t seem to deter students from cheating. “Punishing people doesn’t change the culture,” Ross said, adding that the main reason students cheat is that they’re desperate. “Most students are trying to cheat to get ahead, they’re not cheating because they’re completely lacking in integrity or they’re evil people.” Smith, a PhD philosophy graduate who began writing cheat papers in 2009 when the economy crashed and his skill sets were not employable. Now, he has 10 writers on staff. “The service has become increasing- ly popular,” said Smith. “The system of education standards are lower, more students are being accepted into univer- sity, and above all the system is depriv- ing the professors to hold students to an academic standard. “That is one of the driving forces for the demand we have now.” Pritesh Heer, an international busi- ness student at Langara, said he strug- gled with the temptation to cheat, and cheated once before. “The course fees are so high, and I was in no position to pay for it again,” he said about his tuition. “Everyone is do- ing it, they’ve been cheating and never been caught and pass with flying co- lours. “Why can’t I?” 66 They’ve been cheat- ing and never been caught and pass with flying co- lours. Why can’t I? PRITESH HEER LANGARA BUSINESS STUDENT Fall back this weekend for daylight savings! Bike share expanding territory Mobi is looking to broaden its horizon and develop bike sharing stations in the South Vancouver area By CHELSEA POWRIE fter having been left out of the A‘ phase, South Vancouver is ow going to be part of a Vancou- ver bike share company, Mobi — they are just unsure when. Currently, Mobi stations are focused in the downtown core and West and East Vancouver. There are no bike stops, where users pick up and return rides, available south of Mount Pleas- ant. However, Mobi’s target fleet is 1,500 bikes, leaving plenty of room for South Vancouver to be part of the ac- tion eventually, though not immedi- ately. “We're at about the half- RU LES way point right now,” said Mobi of Mobi general manag- er Mia Kohout. “There’s no ex- 1 You can ride a Mobi act time when [a South Vancou- ver expansion] y] bike outside of the service area. may happen.” Mobi bikes cannot For students, be taken on a bus, Mobi’s price skytrain or ferry. lan makes 3 P You have to be more sense than other bike rent- al options in the city. A one-year membership, which costs $129 plus fees, gives the user unlim- ited 30 minute rides. Day passes are also available for $7.50. In comparison, English Bay Bike Rentals charges around $38 for a day. Chris Melican, an employee at Eng- lish Bay Bike Rentals, said that al- though they sometimes see locals renting bikes, it is rarely on a long- term basis. “We get mostly tourists going sight- seeing,” said Melican. Harmandeep Kaur, a general stud- ies student, thinks Mobi would be great for Langara students given the state of the local buses. “The number 49 always says, ‘Sorry, the bus is full,” Kaur said. 19-years-old or older to use Mobi, 16 to 19-year-olds need permission from a parent Source: www.mobibikes.ca