Volume 67, Issue 8

Yeshiva Struggles to Apprehend Cheaters
Entire Class Suffers Because of Few
by Kevin A. Cyrulnik

The surge of cheating that has recently plagued Yeshiva has taken a turn for the worse, leaving an entire class of students up in arms.  Pending an investigation into alleged cheating during Professor Mitchell Kellman’s “Money and Banking” final examination, every student in the class received an I, or incomplete, as his final grade.

An “I” given at Yeshiva, like most other universities, almost always denotes unfinished coursework or a missed final examination.  When an entire class receives incompletes, however, it implies something very different.  “When I saw that ‘I,’ it shocked me.  I proceeded to call my friends in the same class and then discovered that it wasn’t only me,” noted one student. 

Quite some time passed before any students found out the truth about their grades.  In fact, the administration did not contact or inform students about the situation at any point. Only those who contacted the professor directly were able to determine what had actually occurred. 

To the students’ surprise and dismay, Kellman informed them that there had been a suspicion of cheating during the final, and that the school had therefore decided to suspend all grades, pending an investigation.  Making matters worse, Kellman informed many of these students that he in fact did submit their real grade, and the students feared that they would never see that grade on their permanent transcript.    

Yeshiva College Dean Dr. Norman Adler, the designated decision-maker in cases of academic integrity, admitted that he had had an extremely difficult decision to render.  Legally and ethically, after receiving reports of widespread cheating, Adler claims that he absolutely had the right to invalidate all examinations, thereby forcing all to re-take the exam.  Nevertheless, Adler concurred that this would affect many more than the actual culprits and therefore decided to investigate, hoping to punish only the cheaters. 

While the investigation was progressing, Adler saw no alternative but to issue each and every student an incomplete.  “This,” he maintains, “was in the best interest of the students.” 

Adler went on to explain the protocol for these types of situations.  Although he makes the ultimate decision in terms of punishment, Yeshiva College has a strict policy that a faculty panel sits and hears all facts of the case before speaking to Adler.  Based on the panels’ assessment of the situation, which, incidentally, is a constantly rotating panel of three, the panel makes its recommendation to Adler, who subsequently issues a verdict.

In essence, Adler explained, “Policy here at Yeshiva is set by faculty, not the deans.  My job as dean is [analogous to] chief officer.”  In that capacity, Adler sees his job as interpreting policy, or deciding which punishment perpetrators deserve.

As of Tuesday, February 11, virtually all the incompletes were changed back into the original grades that the students deserved.  The grades and fate of the accused cheaters, however, have yet to be determined. 

Adler’s explanation notwithstanding, the accused students tell a very different story about the various methods and tactics employed by Yeshiva.  One student, who wished to remain anonymous, revealed the confidential nature of the so-called investigations, or in his own terminology, the interrogations conducted by Yeshiva.  The student reported that Dr. Carl Feit, professor of biology and department cluster head, screamed at him, used vulgar language and even got to the point of blackmail.  He purports that Feit threatened him, saying that if the student did not squeal on the cheaters, Feit would make that student appear guilty.

When asked to respond to the accusations, Feit regretted that since this was still an ongoing investigation, he could not speak on the record.  Nevertheless, to assuage public condemnation, he explained the general practices that he, a representative of Yeshiva, uses in these situations.  His ultimate goal is to convey to the student how important it is to admit to cheating, if he indeed is guilty.  “If the facts are right in front of you, how are you going to deny it?” wondered Feit.  Thus, Feit conceded that while the interrogations might appear to be “rough play” to various students, he is simply attempting to ensure that these students are fully aware of the consequences of their actions. 

As of press time, that student, along with many of his peers, still have no idea what is going to happen to them or their original grades.  As far as YC policy is concerned, YC Associate Dean Dr. Joyce Jesionowski pointed out that each student is given a handbook entitled “Upholding Academic Integrity,” which outlines and defines cheating and plagiarism, as well as the penalties for violations of those rules.  Currently, for first-time offenders, the book prescribes a maximum penalty of a grade of F for the course, with the minimum penalty being the reduction of one full letter grade in the course. 

Many students feel that as an Orthodox institution, Yeshiva must enforce penalties even more harsh than those outlined in the academic integrity pamphlet.  YC senior Brian Schusselberg pointed out that he is “fed up” with the cheating that is so pervasive on campus, arguing that “Yeshiva’s current minimum penalty is way to lenient.  Cheating is a serious offense, and even first time offenders should be expelled, or at the very least, receive an automatic failure,” Schlusselberg concluded.       

It seems as though the faculty and Rebbeim of Yeshiva agree with that assessment, as there is a document currently being circulated for ratification, which calls for a change to our existing system for cheating.  If signed, this will mark the very first time in Yeshiva’s history that the Rebbeim have stepped in to inform students of the halachic ramifications of cheating.  Commentator sources have learned, in fact, that the document even goes so far as to obligate all students to inform the administration of any cheating that they witnessed. 

On Monday, February 10, the deans scheduled a morning meeting with all students in the Money and Banking class to discuss the situation with them and attempt to clear up any remaining ambiguities.  In addition to the two YC deans, Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary Roshei Yeshiva Rabbis Herschel Schachter and Jeremy Wieder were in attendance. According to Adler, the meeting also functioned as a forum to “challenge” the students to come forward with any qualms they had regarding his handling of the situation.  He hopes that this meeting conveyed to the students the severity of cheating, ultimately hoping to curtail and eventually stop this abomination from occurring at Yeshiva.

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