Plagiarism Alleged in Duke Student's Commencement Speech

[bundabergdevil]

Making news for not great reasons.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/duke-investigating-student-commencement-speech-151047744.html

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Making news for not great reasons.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/duke-inve...151047744.html

I saw that. All commencement speeches tend to sound the same but this seems pretty bad. None of the articles say who figured this out, which is what I am interested in.

[Bluedog]

Let's link to The Chronicle's article to give it some "credit" for breaking the story (it is linked in the OP's News & Observer link admittedly):
https://www.dukechronicle.com/articl...rd-2014-speech

Not a good look...Pretty similar to Milania copying Michelle's speech although that one was more verbatim but for a smaller portion of the speech. Plagiarism always isn't a good idea, but is particularly head-scratching when it's a speech you're doing by choice (this isn't a school assignment). Why do it?

[Phredd3]

I came to the thread expecting to hear about the words of Mary Barra, who was widely regarded as the "Commencement Speaker". Perhaps the thread title could reflect that this thread has nothing to do with the GM CEO?

[dpslaw]

I saw that. All commencement speeches tend to sound the same but this seems pretty bad. None of the articles say who figured this out, which is what I am interested in.

The first mention of this appears to be by graduating senior Jack Lichtenstein @jacklich10 on twitter.

[Bluedog]

The first mention of this appears to be by graduating senior Jack Lichtenstein @jacklich10 on twitter.

https://twitter.com/jacklich10/statu...97672964259840

Sounds like the speech was NOT well received even without the knowledge of plagiarism...So, yeah... (I typically would give the student speaker a benefit of the doubt, but with the plagiarism, piling onto the "boringness" of it seems reasonable).

What was previously posted as the full student speech by Duke has been taken down on YouTube (I assume taken down by Duke).

[Stray Gator]

I don't think there can be any reasonable doubt that the Duke Student Commencement Speech was largely the product of plagiarism; the parallels are too stark to be dismissed as mere coincidence. It's difficult to conceive of a more inappropriate time and place to commit such a disgraceful breach of the honor code and affront to fundamental principles of academic integrity. IMO, this is an embarrassment to Duke University that should not go unpunished. At the very least, it would seem that the method by which a student is selected to deliver the commencement speech needs to be revisited and modified to ensure that this kind of ugly blunder does not happen again.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

The first mention of this appears to be by graduating senior Jack Lichtenstein @jacklich10 on twitter.

So how did he find it? It's not like she plagiarized the Gettysburg Address or something else commonly known.

[TrickDribbles99]

Let's link to The Chronicle's article to give it some "credit" for breaking the story (it is linked in the OP's News & Observer link admittedly):
https://www.dukechronicle.com/articl...rd-2014-speech

Not a good look...Pretty similar to Milania copying Michelle's speech although that one was more verbatim but for a smaller portion of the speech. Plagiarism always isn't a good idea, but is particularly head-scratching when it's a speech you're doing by choice (this isn't a school assignment). Why do it?

Yep, also then-candidate Biden plagiarizing a UK politician's speech in 1987 right down to the hand gestures. Bizarre. It makes you wonder how many copied speeches went undetected in the days before the internet made such things far easier to ferret out.

[Bostondevil]

Having marshalled multiple kids through the college admissions process, one thing I have realized - the process does not reward ethical behavior. That's not saying that none of the students accepted at Duke - or other top colleges - behave ethically, but there is no benefit in the process to behaving ethically. Consequently, I am not even remotely surprised that a Duke student plagiarized a commencement speech.

[cspan37421]

Consequently, I am not even remotely surprised that a Duke student plagiarized a commencement speech.

And that's a sad state of affairs on its own.

One a related "DBR" matter, was it not the former GM of the Atlanta Hawks repeating without attribution a scout's unflattering description of Luol Deng that led to his being pressured out of that job? Checking over the relevant section of wikipedia on the matter, he might have kept it had he given attribution, for apparently he "shared his own opinion of Deng, recommended him both personally and professionally and ultimately tried to sign him to the team."

So attribution can be highly consequential.

[cato]

Having marshalled multiple kids through the college admissions process, one thing I have realized - the process does not reward ethical behavior. That's not saying that none of the students accepted at Duke - or other top colleges - behave ethically, but there is no benefit in the process to behaving ethically. Consequently, I am not even remotely surprised that a Duke student plagiarized a commencement speech.

So behaving ethically is high risk, low reward as far as results are concerned? Not the incentives I would hope for.

[CameronBornAndBred]

That's some amazing timing on getting busted. Derp.


PS, am I wrong in guessing that Miss Parkash likely just chucked 4 four years of time on Duke's campus down the toilet?

[Bostondevil]

So behaving ethically is high risk, low reward as far as results are concerned? Not the incentives I would hope for.

In a word, yes.

Name one area of modern life where ethical behavior is rewarded though.

[Bluedog]

That's some amazing timing on getting busted. Derp.


PS, am I wrong in guessing that Miss Parkash likely just chucked 4 four years of time on Duke's campus down the toilet?

I think she can say goodbye to Young Trustee now...(assuming that wasn't already decided.)

[cspan37421]

In a word, yes.

Name one area of modern life where ethical behavior is rewarded though.

I'm reminded of the Ambrose-Bierce-esque quip by HL Mencken -

Pastor - One employed by the wicked to prove to them by his example that virtue doesn't pay.

I know some people of the cloth who really like this one.

[bundabergdevil]

In a word, yes.

Name one area of modern life where ethical behavior is rewarded though.

I’d go further and cross out modern and say “life at any point in human history”.

[budwom]

So how did he find it? It's not like she plagiarized the Gettysburg Address or something else commonly known.

The only amazing thing about this story is that the alleged perpetrator did not realize that EVERYTHING can be found on the internet. Of course I don't know precisely how this was uncovered, but I DO know some recently retired profs at tip top schools who routinely used software which detects plagiarism, and they say it's unnervingly effective.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

The only amazing thing about this story is that the alleged perpetrator did not realize that EVERYTHING can be found on the internet. Of course I don't know precisely how this was uncovered, but I DO know some recently retired profs at tip top schools who routinely used software which detects plagiarism, and they say it's unnervingly effective.

I'm guessing some of her Duke professors are now using that software to go through some of the papers she submitted.

I appreciate the efforts of the person who figured this out but I'm curious what would lead one to spend their time cross-checking her speech with another speech from a different school several years ago.

I found her LinkedIn page and she is quite the over-achiever. It looks like she interned at Credit Suisse last summer and had an offer to return.

[LasVegas]

So how did he find it? It's not like she plagiarized the Gettysburg Address or something else commonly known.

He has probably watched it before and it just rang a bell. That’s what I am assuming.