ABA Journal ran an interesting story on the crackdown on cheaters by Syracuse University Law School. The school will now limit law students to one potty visit during an exam: thereby guaranteeing the law students with larger bladders will reign supreme on law school curves.
The law school does allow students with medical reasons to use the restroom more than once: presumably chronic lack of studying will not be accepted as a medical condition.
The law school told students that “During this exam period, we have received a significant number of reports from (first-year) students alleging academic dishonesty.” Limiting bathroom runs was better and more efficient than cavity searches or catheters.
Here is my only question. I have not studied the average number of bathroom visit by cheaters but doesn’t this move simply require cheaters to be a bit more efficient in their potty lifelines?
Obviously, someone is going to have to keep track of the potty visits. I would suggest this system featuring in Cool Hand Luke where inmates call out “taking it off Boss.” One cannot continue to have a failure to communicate.”
For the full story, click here.
Hm. At least one mystery has been resolved, given this cheating by persons who are supposedly in charge of keeping society somewhat moral.
It had always interested me that an oath was ever required in a Court of Law. After all, lieing to a police officer is assuredly illegal and potentially much more dangerous (if the cop is looking for a violent drunk) than the wildest court room fantasy.
Instead of an oath, there might simply be an overhead announcement at the beginning of each trial proceeding similar to the one that begins every plane flight. On plane flights, one hears something such as “it is a violation of Federal law to disable smoke detectors; those who do this may be subject to fines or imprisonment.” In the court room, one might similarly hear “it is a violation of law to fail to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; persons who do this may be subject to imprisonment.”
The reason for the absence of this simple procedure, which would save time, now becomes clear: attorneys are so dishonest they cannot even be trusted to use the bathroom with honesty; they must be given an exemption in courts of law to permit them to lie, as is their nature.
Question: is Senator Craig an attorney?
Lawyers cheating? Say it isn’t so!
Rafflaw….
I’m sure that after eating all that chocolate, you had no trouble using the washroom!!
It does seem like a fair thing. I know when I took my exams some professors would let you and some wouldn’t. I understand it, but I think… what would happen if I was just so nervous that I was about to … you know…
I was so nervous about my first exam in Law School that I ate an entire 1/2 pound of M & M’ s while reading the instructions. I am sure glad that John Marshall Law School did not have the same policy as Syracuse does. I would have died right there in my chair if I didn’t have the ability to use the washroom after all of those M & M’s.
I once copied the entire opinion of Pennoyer v. Neff on a role of Charmin. Just my luck it went into the ladies room by mistake. At least is was used for something useful.
For the four to five-hour LSAT, test-takers get one scheduled 10-minute break.
How long exactly is the typical law school exam that this policy is in any way a problem?
This old hippie looks back with both pride and embarrassment at what my tribe tried to do. Pride because we tried to create an America where money and success would not trump quality of life. Embarrassment because we failed and because we thought that everyone that smoked dope and wore the right clothes followed the drummer. It all ended in the Disco Age followed by a mediocre, but likable acting has been, who fronted for the military industrial complex. It ushered in the Go Go 80’s where movie bad guys like Gordon Gekko, were actually lionized as hero’s. Greed is good!
The next few generations of children were brought up by parents awash in this philosophy, the wealthiest thinking having their two year old audition for nursery school was a good thing. The MBA, a ridiculous degree, became the coin of success, with a Law Degree following close behind, although for those law students Clarence Thomas was more of a hero than Clarence Darrow. So is it any damn wonder that Syracuse Law and perhaps many others find students trying to cheat as they pee? We live in a society with skewed values that provides all its’ workers less vacation time than any industrialized society, save for the Far East. Family values and religion are on most lips, but hypocrisy marks those same peoples actions.
When we begin to realize that whoever has the most toys does not win, then perhaps our children and young adults will not feel the need to get ahead at any cost, as they try to cheat their way through life and love.
How much did Depends pay this law school for the stealth marketing campaign?
There is no time to go to the bathroom during a Turley final. Just pee in your seat if you have to.
This could be age discrimination if the Flowmax commercials have any veracity.
Old dudes and dudettes gotta go more often, but not to cheat.
Perhaps they should just hand out Flomax tablets as students enter the Chamber of Citations.
That might even the score, if ya know what I mean.
Did Joe Biden go to the bathroom a lot in law school? I think he did….
In addition to limiting bathroom breaks, the law school is also:
Hiring more proctors to supervise exams;
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How do you spell proctologist? Does it mean the smae.
This reminds me of a TV show Leave it to Beaver. When Wally was going to cheat and his conscience got caught by a teacher that juts happened to pull one up on Wally.
Well, Ward was not to Hard on the Beaver that day.
surely then you support open book finals to neutralize this option. oh wait your final was closed book!