The Assignment File
You are in a required statistics course. The final assignment is worth 25% and must be completed individually. At 10 p.m. the night before the deadline, a classmate, Priya, calls you in tears. Her father was hospitalized this afternoon, and she has been at the hospital ever since. She has not started the assignment. She asks you to send her your completed file so she can 'change it a bit' and submit it. She says she would do the same for you and that she cannot afford to fail because she is on a scholarship. You have spent 12 hours on the assignment. The syllabus says plagiarism results in a zero for both students. You know Priya is usually a diligent student. She says the instructor will not believe her without evidence, and she does not have time to request an extension.
1. What are the key ethical and practical issues in Priya's request?
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The request pits compassion against academic integrity. Priya is in a genuine crisis, and her fear about the scholarship is understandable. But sending my file, even for her to 'change a bit,' is collusion in plagiarism. The syllabus is explicit: both students can receive a zero. That would harm both of us and would not be a fair response to her father's illness. There is also a practical issue: if she submits work that is substantially mine, it may be detectable, and the consequences could be worse than requesting an extension. I need to separate the emergency from the solution. The emergency calls for flexibility and support; it does not call for fraud. I also should not become her only source of help at 10 p.m. I can help her identify the right channel: instructor, teaching assistant, dean's office, or student services. My own integrity matters, and so does not abandoning a friend. The key is to be firm on the boundary while being generous with alternatives.
2. What would you say to Priya?
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I would lead with care: 'I am really sorry about your dad. That sounds terrifying, and I understand why you are panicking.' Then I would be direct: 'I cannot send you my file. If you submit it, we could both get zeroed, and I do not want that for either of us.' I would avoid lecturing her about plagiarism; she knows. I would focus on the next step: 'Have you emailed the instructor yet? Let us draft that message together right now.' I would offer to help her gather evidence, such as a hospital note or a message from a family member, if that is appropriate. I would not promise to lie for her. If she said I was being selfish, I would acknowledge her frustration without changing the boundary: 'I know this feels like I am not helping. I am trying to help in a way that does not make things worse.' I would stay on the call if she wanted company while she wrote the email.
3. What alternatives could you offer, and what would you do if she kept pressuring you?
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I would offer concrete alternatives: request an extension or incomplete, contact the instructor or TA immediately, ask student services for emergency support, and speak to the scholarship office about a temporary hardship. I could offer to help her outline the assignment or review a draft if she gets an extension, but not to give her my answers. If she kept pressuring me, I would repeat the boundary once and then disengage from the debate: 'I care about you, but I am not going to send the file. I can stay on the phone while you email the instructor.' If she became angry, I would not escalate. I would follow up the next day to see how the extension request went. If she threatened to submit something anyway, I would not help her conceal it. I might also let her know that I will not discuss my own assignment with her before the deadline, to remove the temptation. The friendship may feel strained in the short term, but helping her cheat would not be real help.