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A friend asked me to post this.

I am an A grade undergraduate student who participated in many competitions and won many trophies for the Uni. So basically, during a final exam, a proctor felt that there is something under my hand. So I simply gave him the cheat sheet. He flagged the incident. The dean came immediately to double check if it was really mine. I simply said yes
Later on, I was called to a disciplinary committee meeting where I told the whole truth..
The committee president stated that the answer of that question was wrong (which I assume is an enough proof that I didn't cheat from that sheet).
Unfortunately, the decision was already made to follow the rules and reject my submitted paper.

The situation:
1. I didn't cheat from that sheet
2. I gave it to the professor though he saw nothing
3. I told the full truth from the beginning to the end
4. I hate everyone now, feeling that I shouldn't be honest in the first place
5. I am totally discouraged

My question is:
How can I pass that incident and continue dealing with all professors normally? especially that I was dealt so hard after me being so productive generally and also very honest with all of them in this specific case?! Were they right in their decision?

PS:
1. This is the first time to be caught (and definitely the last one)
2. I spoke with the president and -despite the fact that he was shocked- he agreed on the committee decision

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    Just to clarify: 1) cheat sheets are not allowed as resources for the final exam of this course. 2) you had a cheat sheet.
    – abase
    Jul 19, 2016 at 19:24
  • @abase yeah, a friend gave it to him assuming he needed it and obviously he didn't have time to get rid of it
    – Jad
    Jul 19, 2016 at 19:26
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    This is the second question from you about friends and their cheating on exams. These friends of yours have a dangerous sense of entitlement and I strongly recommend that you stop associating with them before their attitude rubs off on you. No one deserves an A for cheating. There are no excuses. If your friends manage to get through university by cheating they will only come up against the harsh reality that no employer cares about the good grades you got in university if you don't have the proper knowledge to do your job.
    – abase
    Jul 19, 2016 at 20:23
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    I think that being caught with a sheet of paper specifically made for cheating on an exam (i.e. a cheat sheet) is pretty much by definition "getting caught cheating".
    – Chris Rackauckas
    Jul 19, 2016 at 23:37
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    @Jad Definitions tend to depend on culture. Plagiarism is an example that has come up on this SE on a number of occasions. Some may not see it as necessary to cite text taken from "well-known" texts (relative to the audience), possibly to the extent of viewing it as inappropriate to do so, while in the US failing to do so is plagiarism.
    – zibadawa timmy
    Jul 20, 2016 at 6:09

2 Answers 2

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The hard truth: they were correct in their decision.

Your friend should not have had a cheat sheet at the exam. This was against the rules. It does not matter where it came from.

I have chosen a few quotes that stand out to me:

He asked me, and I just simply gave him the cheat sheet as I didn't need it, and I was sure he knew me well

Unfortunately, the decision was already made to follow the rules

I hate everyone now, feeling that I shouldn't be honest in the first place

yeah, a friend gave it to him assuming he needed it and obviously he didn't have time to get rid of it

This is disturbing because I see no acceptance of responsibility on the part of your friend.

  • He chose to accept the cheat sheet from his friend
  • He chose to keep it at his desk instead of turning it into the professor

While it is commendable that he didn't use it, and it is commendable that he was honest about it when he was caught, it does not change the fact that what happened to him is the direct result of his choices - it is no one's fault but his own.

His academic record does not set him above the rules. Worse, it calls into question all of his academic achievements to date.

Moving forward He cannot go back to dealing normally with his professors, he must work very hard to restore his reputation and the trust and respect they once had for him.

A good first step would be apologizing to the faculty and acknowledging his responsibility.

Another sign of good faith would be to offer to re-take the exam, not for marks, but to restore their confidence that he learned the material and that his achievements were not made through cheating.

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    That is all assuming this really is an isolated incident. The OP has no way of knowing whether the friend had cheat sheets on other occasions that were not discovered. If so, it may be difficult for the friend to get the good grades honestly.
    – Patricia Shanahan
    Jul 19, 2016 at 19:53
  • Thanks for the comprehensive response, abase! Just a point for you and for @PatriciaShanahan though, this guy has won many trophies in competitions (where no cheating is even possible) and also he is well-known by all of his professors (and by the dean himself) coz they all saw his discussions and answers during classes (where again no cheating is possible)
    – Jad
    Jul 20, 2016 at 1:11
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    @Jad None of that matters. Good students aren't above the rules.
    – user37208
    Jul 20, 2016 at 2:35
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    competitions (where no cheating is even possible) -- Ah, if only that were true.
    – JeffE
    Jul 20, 2016 at 13:14
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    Cheating is definitely possible in competitions.
    – JeffE
    Jul 21, 2016 at 16:48
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The punishment was fair. Having a cheat sheet on your desk during an exam should be considered cheating, even if you don't use it. Otherwise, it would be extremely easy to get away with cheating by bringing a cheat sheet and only looking at it when the proctor isn't watching.

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  • I kind of believe the punishment was fair; however I don't like this answer because it implies that having a planted cheat sheet should also count as cheating.
    – Joshua
    Nov 11, 2016 at 22:39

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