Chapter 4
Cheating
4.1 Cheating is taking unfair advantage of a situation or of fellow
classmates in order to obtain higher grades, better scholarship opportunities,
cadet-of-the-month or flight-of-the-month consideration, an academic or
leadership award, a better grade point average, or some other tangible gain.
Cheating is usually, but not always, accomplished by using or copying from
another person's work, or purposely not following instructions, and often
takes the form of some last moment action that is done without thinking.
4.2 Recognizing a tendency among humans to do such things on
occasion, it is therefore possible to avoid cheating when the
opportunity arises by making a conscious advance decision to avoid it.
There are many, many ways to cheat. We will consider cheating from the
point of view of whether an improper gain has been made by an
individual, not by considering the means by which the gain might have
been made. If an opportunity arises which, if taken unfair advantage
of allows you to gain unfairly over your classmates - that is cheating.
4.3 CHEATING IS NOT PERMITTED IN AFJROTC AT MEDINA VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL.
It is important that each cadet understands this basic requirement and make every
effort to follow it. Cadets who cheat and who are caught identify themselves as
people not worthy of holding cadet rank, of being promoted, or of receiving
recommendations, scholarships, awards or other special recognition in the future.
That person will be removed from AFJROTC. Anyone who would accept such honors
with full knowledge that they did not earn them, but instead acted unfairly and
improperly to gain such honor is a cheat. That person has also completely failed
to achieve the aims, goals, and objectives of the AFJROTC course of instruction.
Such individuals are living a lie and will not be trusted in the future; they
cannot be, for they have called attention to themselves as people who will stoop
to any level necessary to bring gain to themselves, at the expense of anyone with
whom they compete and who might be in their way. Such people have demonstrated
that they have no regard for their fellows in the past; it will therefore be
unlikely that they will receive much regard from their fellows in the future.
4.4 Cadets who cheat and are not caught hurt themselves more than
those who are caught. It is they who believe they can beat the system and
who attempt to cheat again or gain in other unethical ways in the future,
because they may believe they are invulnerable to being caught. Cadets who
have not made a commitment to avoid cheating will often fall in this category-
when the opportunity arises, they may well cheat for they have not considered
making an advanced decision not to cheat.
4.5 Individuals who either passively (but knowingly) or purposely
allow others to copy their work are just as guilty of cheating as the active
cheater is. They are willing participants and have endorsed by their action
an act of dishonesty. They will be dealt with exactly the same as the active cheater.
4.6 While individual instances of cheating will be dealt with on an
individual basis, these guidelines are intended to inform all cadets in
advance of the seriousness with which such activities are viewed by TX-20009th
AFJROTC instructors. We have a good cadet Group; let's keep it that way.
If we change it, let's improve it, not destroy it.
4.7 We can learn a lesson from all the service academies whose
young men and women adhere to a far stricter honor code. It is, "I will
not lie, cheat, or steal nor Condone those around me who do." Though this
is a seemingly tough code to live by it's not so tough in reality when
you consider that by putting on the uniform you are putting on the public
trust as well - you are still expected to try to bring honor to yourself
and your school. The best way to do that is to guard your integrity as
your most precious asset. Do not lie, cheat, or steal or allow anyone else
to, and you will always have the trust you'll need to succeed. Even though
the honor code is mandatory at the service academies, we at Medina Valley
High School AFJROTC view our approach to the subject as voluntary. We need,
however, to always remember that the subject of honor is very important to us.
4.8 Cadets who find these guidelines offensive or who believe them
to be impossible to follow should talk with an AFJROTC instructor
immediately about leaving AFJROTC.