[monjaro]

Okay, I'm the one that said they sound like spoiled children, so I'll bite. Can you explain to me how that is myopic and immature? These are all quotes from the article:

"He said, 'I gave out 120 A’s last year, and I’ll give out 120 more,' "

"Having my degree revoked now would mean I lose my job."

"some said that they will sue the university if any serious punishment is meted out"

"Some students asked whether there was a fundamental contradiction between telling students to use online resources, but not to discuss the test with each other"

These aren't responses of mature adults. This is immature students whining and complaining because they got caught cheating. The test explicitly said "students may not discuss the exam with others." It doesn't matter how it was done last year, or how hard the class is, or how much money they spent on the class. If the exam says not to discuss it with other students and you do, you have cheated.

[npisenti]

I totally agree. And it sounds like the students knew perfectly well that they were cheating... "[one of the students] said that he also discussed test questions with other students, which he acknowledged was prohibited, but he maintained that the practice was widespread and accepted." Now they are just whining that they got caught ("I'm a Harvard grad, god dammit!").

I went to a small science/engineering school with a very serious honor code, and can assure you there is nothing contradictory about saying "you may use online resources, but do not discuss this test with anyone." It's sad that some Harvard students think their privilege entitles them to ignore the rules.