advertisement

Two standards on school plagiarism

Plagiarizing Naperville Central High School principal Jim Caudill is apparently being reassigned for stealing the words of others when crafting a recent high school commencement speech.

It's an unfortunate circumstance for which Mr. Caudill is being held accountable.

In contrast, Southern Illinois University president and former Illinois Congressmen Glenn Poshard, who committed the far more egregious act of plagiarizing major portions of his doctoral dissertation, still has his job.

Obviously academic standards, ethical expectations and accountability measures are much higher in the Naperville public schools than they are at one of the state's largest universities.

But, there is no accountability for Poshard, the political insider.

Instead, President Poshard has made a laughingstock out of SIU. This is such a shame for the more honorable people in the SIU community.

"Bravo" to the Naperville school board, and to it superintendent, for doing the difficult but right thing.

Charles F. Falk

Schaumburg

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.