Although the opening paragraph of Ethan Canin's "The Palace Thief," reads "This is a story without surprises," the short story provided enough material for over an hour of discussion during freshman orientation.
Teams of first-year students met at the Marketplace on East Campus Sunday afternoon and broke into smaller groups to discuss their reactions to the assigned summer reading, as well as how it influenced their views on academic integrity. Part of the Division of Student Affairs' effort to promote intellectual discussion during orientation, it met with mixed sentiments.
"I didn't see anything beneficial to it," said freshman T.J. Corona.
Other students, however, found the reading to be a valuable experience. "I thought it was pretty well organized," Emily O'Brien said. "I was surprised that everyone got that involved."
"The Palace Thief," one of a collection of short stories, explores the issue of cheating in academia through the interaction between a student, Sedgewick, and his history professor.
During the discussion sessions, freshmen wrestled with whether cheating gave the young history student genuine satisfaction. "We never see from Sedgewick's perspective if he got what he wanted," Brooke Levin said of her group's discussion. "Obviously he got 'on top,' but we don't know if he's happy."
Although students could not agree on whether Sedgewick was ultimately successful in reaching his goals, some expressed surprise that Duke assigned a story in which a student was allowed to get away with cheating.
"Things like honor, goodwill and knowledge don't apply outside [of academia]. That was the impression the book gave me," said Corona, noting the stark contrast between ethical standards in academia compared to other fields, such as business.
Steve Hwang agreed. "Even though Sedgewick knew he was a cheater, he was still able to get ahead in society," he said. "The guys in the real world pulled real-world tactics and came out ahead."
Students discussed how Duke's intellectual climate might affect honor code compliance and conveyed concern that competition in classes may put pressure on some students to cheat. "The people that cheat the most are generally the [Advanced Placement] students," Levin said.
Some freshmen doubted the ability of the honor code to stem academic dishonesty. "People who are going to cheat will do it whether or not they sign a piece of paper," Caroline Otto said.
Ashley Burns also questioned the honor code's effectiveness, noting that it was not likely to influence an individual's behavior. "I think it is supposed to be instilled in the student," she said.
While there was general doubt about whether the honor code solved the problem of dishonesty, many agreed that it is important for an academic institution to take a stand on issues of cheating, regardless of its ability to deter violators. "I think an honor code is just a statement for the school," Sid Palani said.
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