Plagiarism prong in the news

General UNC Scandal48

 

A few new articles commenting on the plagiarism prong have arrove!  But before we get to those, I have a theory about the “sideways scissors” hand sign McAdoo (and others) always seem to do in these pictures.  Given McAdoo’s expertise hitting control-v and control-c repeatedly, perhaps it is a “cut and paste” sign.  If you look at the picture from the last entry…

…you will see them doing it in that one also.  Cut and paste yo!

Moving on, someone has put a lot of time into this pdf, which goes through McAdoo’s entire Frankenpaper color-coding the original sources.  The amount of words McAdoo actually wrote on his own is astonishingly low.  Does anyone think that maybe McAdoo did not know what he was doing was wrong?  That’s perhaps an even bigger indictment of UNC-CH, but it would explain the ridiculously obvious nature of the copying.  Aside: if anyone knows who did that pdf, put them in touch with SFN so the much-deserved credit can be given.

Some more news sources have picked up the Frankenpaper story.  This NESN piece makes some funny observations.

Plagiarism alone would qualify McAdoo as a knucklehead, but while all plagiarism is foolish and useless, some is plain dumb. McAdoo qualifies for the latter after apparently plagiarizing a 1911 essay on Africa for a Swahili class last year.

Heck, what could change over the course of a century?

One of the tip-offs, according to Sports Illustrated, is that McAdoo’s paper put Africa’s population at “about 160 million,” only slightly below the estimated 2010 population of 1.03 billion. Give or take a few hundred million people, McAdoo wasn’t far off.

The Great Googlers of the world identified the 1911 essay The Future of Africa as the source of the content, SI reports. It’s a good read, as anyone who read McAdoo’s paper could probably attest.

This case gets more fun, though. According to the News & Observer of Raleigh, N.C., the plagiarism was discovered thanks to McAdoo’s own legal team, which alleges in a lawsuit that the NCAA wrongfully banned McAdoo for alleged academic fraud and receiving improper benefits. One of the alleged instances of academic fraud included an accusation that a tutor re-formatted citations on his Swahili paper.

…

OK kids, here’s a tip: Don’t plagiarize, but if you’re intent on breaking the rules, plagiarize something a little more current, like the Glass Steagall Act of 1933 or anything else that was published in the last 100 years. There’s got to be at least a couple.

This article out of Staunton, Virginia also does some damage:

If you need any further proof that football dominates the college sports landscape, that administrators will overlook all kinds of offenses for even a mediocre football program, look no further than Chapel Hill, N.C.

…

Carolina seems satisfied to paint the picture of a coach ignorant of the rampant wrongdoings in his program. That’s preferable to a coach who is responsible for those wrongdoings. Uninformed over dirty is what the school wants in its coach.

…

If the Tar Heels stick with Davis, it becomes evident that the school is happier with a program that has a sullied reputation rather than one that no one cares about. A few extra wins a year must be worth it to the school, which is a sad indictment on college athletics and a sadder reflection on the University of North Carolina.

An Ohio State blog is particularly brutal:

North Carolina is clearly new to this cheating thing. North Carolina, for all intents and purposes, has been running a semi-professional football team since Butch Davis arrived on campus after burning the Browns organization to the ground. (Butch Davis, still employed, by the way). Nobody really cares about North Carolina football, so, I guess they’ve got the cloak of anonymity to hide behind.
You’d think UNC would just shut up and let the NCAA continue to chase the big cats, but no, that’s apparently not how they roll. One of their players, who was caught red-handed plagiarizing a Swahili paper, was recently defended by Dick Baddour, North Carolina’s athletic director:

“This work reflects his ideas exclusively. It is not a rip off. This really is his work.”

I guess this is the benefits of cheating while not even being able to win an NCAA title, but if Gene Smith had made a statement this erroneous, he would be mercilessly raked over the coals by the media. All this guy Dick Baddour got was a Sports by Brooks post.

A CBS Charlotte piece from this afternoon likens Butch to Michael Corleone, a comparison that flatters Butch more than Michael if you ask me.  The author doesn’t take it further, but with the way he was thrown overboard, I guess Blake would then have to be Fredo.

Lastly, let’s examine one particularly funny sentence from McAdoo’s paper (on page 129 of this pdf  if you want to read it):

Its population of about one hundred and sixty million seems enormous, yet, in comparison to the area, it is small. It is computed at fifteen to the square feet.

Wow!  That is some first-class 400-level public ivy work right there!  That sentence was lifted from pages 2-3 of a book called The Future of Africa by Donald Frazer, published in 1911.  You will notice that McAdoo has wildly misreported the population of Africa on the one hand (given the age of his source material), yet has put the population density of the continent at fifteen people per square “feet.”  The original source (emphasis mine):

Its population of about one hundred and sixty millions seems enormous. Yet, in comparison to the area it is small, and computed at fifteen to the square mile.

McAdoo’s fifteen people to the “square feet” is actually more exciting!  That really would be a story!  The good news: McAdoo’s edit to “feet” must be his own work.  The bad news: it turns the sentence (unintentionally) into a laugh line.

Some questions to ponder: how did McAdoo’s professor, Baddour, the UNC attorneys, and the UNC Honor Court read this paper and not notice the laughable mistakes and blatant, brazen plagiarism?  How does this paper even pass muster as a legitimate assignment in a 400-level language class?  Are any adults at UNC-CH upset by any of this?

Cut and paste yo!

General UNC Scandal

48 Responses to Plagiarism prong in the news

  1. State Fan 07/11/2011 at 9:58 PM #

    I’m just incredibly impressed that the UNC football and basketball teams are so fluent in Swahili.

  2. LRM 07/11/2011 at 9:59 PM #

    Classic, Old Mac.

  3. Daily Update 07/11/2011 at 10:11 PM #

    Great job Old Mac. I might have to get started again. If we don’t cover this story locally, then who will?

    I don’t think there was a single mention of UNC-Rogue on the DG show today.

  4. choppack1 07/11/2011 at 10:14 PM #

    It’s a damn shame – the monkey board gets its moment of glory – and the increased traffic gets to see foolish threads about UNC players going out in Raleigh (which they somehow managed to do w/out pictures) and the year old stories of the b’ball players on Memorial Day (which to me didn’t constitute anything wrong.)

    The drum that needs bangin’ is this the cheating coverup thread (Not a story because of what McAdoo did, but because of the actions of UNC’s executive leadership) AND Butch’s phone…In addition, folks need to be looking at the vehicles registered that got tickets.

    Hopefully, the NCAA will ask for the other papers of those accused of cheating. That only makes sense given the revelations of last week.

  5. lawful 07/11/2011 at 11:04 PM #

    Despite what this says about the football team, what does it say about the faculty?

  6. Ismael 07/11/2011 at 11:31 PM #

    I bet if someone went after the professor he’d sing like a jaybird. A 400 level Swahili class has all the sound of a fake class.

  7. blpack 07/11/2011 at 11:33 PM #

    Are there any adults in Chapel Hill? Their public ivy university has been exposed as a diploma mill. What other athletes had their papers passed through by other profs?

  8. MrPlywood 07/12/2011 at 2:52 AM #

    Actually, there are 7, count ’em, 7, 400 level courses in Swahili over at the Hill….

    http://africa.unc.edu/languages/swahili_info/swahili_main.asp

    Although, the class requirements look pretty steep for a UNX ‘baller…

    “Aural comprehension, reading, speaking and writing are stressed.”

  9. MattN 07/12/2011 at 6:40 AM #

    As an 8th grade paper, it’s OK. For a 400-level college project, it is essentially unreadable. One random thought/fact after another that aren’t tied together, no flow/transition. Considering no one in the class made below a B-, I suspect he got an A or at least a B on this paper.

    Its obvious the professor did not bother to read any of it. That’s how they roll at UNC…

  10. Rochester 07/12/2011 at 7:30 AM #

    ^No, he supposedly got an F on the paper. And someone turned him in, so it’s probably not fair to throw the prof in with the rest of them until some actual facts come to light to support accusations like that. Obviously McAdoo didn’t turn himself in, so someone had to smell something wrong here. I’m guessing the prof flagged it.

  11. GAWolf 07/12/2011 at 8:11 AM #

    Rochester, hopefully you’re right.

    Assuming indeed the rumor is true that this paper was turned into the alleged Department Head of the African American Studies program as is indicated by the below offered link, does this not make one wonder exactly what’s going on in the African American Studies department at UNC in relation to, at least, athletes? McAdoo used at least one archaic word pulled from an early 1900’s paper that has now been replaced with the word “Islam”… perhaps the hottest buzz word in world news over the last 30 years. How does this go unnoticed by the department head? I guess we can assume he has Teacher’s Assistants grade the papers to give the benefit of the doubt, but that, too, becomes a point of issue when trying to decipher the academic integrity of the program. There a lot of questions left to be answered here. One would think that if UNC as an academic institution is TRULY a defendant in this cause of action initiated by McAdoo the ACADEMIC INSTITUTION would defend this suit vigorously on this point alone. Tell the world that the professor (or his TA) was the one who flagged this work as not being an original product of the student presenting it. That would at least offer some explanation that it’s not a Romper Room free-for-all for the athletes over there. If this came to light through any other outlet *other* than those in charge of the degree program that many UNC athletes major in, then we’re back to at least the image of a systematic institutional approach to making otherwise ineligible athletes eligible. That, in turn, brings us back to question whether this is “Lack of Institutional Control” or “Absolute Control of the Institutional-wide Cheating.”

    This story is poised to blow up if this lawsuit continues through discovery and potentially into litigation. Someone is going to have to talk from one side or the other to defend/prosecute the allegations. Pandora’s Box, anyone?

    Julius Nyang’oro
    Department Chair
    [email protected]
    +1 919-966-5496

    http://global.unc.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=175&Itemid=79

    The paper’s title section:

    SWAH 403
    Dr. Nyang’oro, Professor
    PID: 714650386
    Michael L. McAdoo
    July 13, 2009

  12. Hamlet 07/12/2011 at 8:15 AM #

    Great stuff, Old Macdonald. Still laughing…and shaking my head…and wondering how UNC still has the exact same head coach and AD that its had in place since this whole fiasco broke. Pathetic.

  13. LRM 07/12/2011 at 8:20 AM #

    Just imagine what the basketball players are getting away with. They’re actually good.

  14. Alpha Wolf 07/12/2011 at 8:21 AM #

    http://plagiarisma.net/

    Have fun, boys….

  15. caryden 07/12/2011 at 8:56 AM #

    I have question. Please forgive me if already addressed.

    This quote raised a question for me that might be more interesting than the plagiarism

    “Some questions to ponder: how did McAdoo’s professor, Baddour, the UNC attorneys, and the UNC Honor Court read this paper and not notice the laughable mistakes and blatant, brazen plagiarism?  How does this paper even pass muster as a legitimate assignment in a 400-level language class?  Are any adults at UNC-CH upset by any of this?”

    What grade did the professor give this paper? I seriously doubt that McAdoo or the others players taking this class are all that interested in Swahili or its history. I would bet that they take it because it is easy to get a good grade. I would wager heavily on these things:

    1. That that class is perennially filled with revenue sport athletes (including basketball).
    2. Plagiarism like this is rampant.
    3. Good grades are dispensed like candy.

    I would also not be surprised at all if this exact same paper has been handed in by others. If I were an NCAA investigator interested in uncovering academic fraud at the institutional level I would review the enrollment of this class, the grading history and look at the assignments handed in by revenue unc athletes. I would then look at mr McAdoo’s transcript and cross reference it with those of the other “usual suspects”: Austin, Little, et. al. I would wager that this is not an isolated incident but that there is almost a curriculum dedicated to keeping athletes eligible…

  16. TruthBKnown Returns 07/12/2011 at 9:58 AM #

    You’d think UNC would just shut up and let the NCAA continue to chase the big cats, but no, that’s apparently not how they roll. One of their players, who was caught red-handed plagiarizing a Swahili paper, was recently defended by Dick Baddour, North Carolina’s athletic director:

    “This work reflects his ideas exclusively. It is not a rip off. This really is his work.”

    I guess this is the benefits of cheating while not even being able to win an NCAA title, but if Gene Smith had made a statement this erroneous, he would be mercilessly raked over the coals by the media. All this guy Dick Baddour got was a Sports by Brooks post.

    This is further evidence of the bias in our local media.

    What else really needs to be said?

  17. triadwolf 07/12/2011 at 10:07 AM #

    What I really question is how the “Honor” Court could miss the plagiarism? They were asked to specifically investigate the work of McAdoo and found some issues with Citations? I can understand a professor who has to grade multiple papers possibly missing it or a TA, but the “Honor” Court who’s sole responsibility is to determine academic wrongdoing???

    If this doesn’t, at a minimum, indicate that there are institutional issues beyond athletics…

  18. TruthBKnown Returns 07/12/2011 at 10:12 AM #

    I shudder to think how this would be reported if an NC State player had done this. Much less, if everything else had happened to NC State instead of UNX. I actually think it’s possible State’s doors might be CLOSED by now.

  19. highstick 07/12/2011 at 10:14 AM #

    Remember that Erskine’s probably still involved and when Baddour says that “this really is his work”, it depends on what “is” is!

    Deny, deflect, blame others…but never accept responsibility! Even if they get the death penalty, this will be what continues to happen.

  20. TruthBKnown Returns 07/12/2011 at 10:15 AM #

    triadwolf, admitting a partial- or half-truth is a form of lying. Maybe they admitted to a “lesser crime” hoping to give themselves and their investigation some credibility, while sweeping the BIGGER stuff under a rug.

    This prong proves beyond question that an independent investigation was and is needed. They either missed this blatant plagiarism accidentally (which exposes them for being inept), or they missed it intentionally (which exposes them for much worse than ineptness). Either way, an independent investigation is highly needed and should be called-for.

    The way the local media is reporting this stuff, I feel like we’re just a bunch of lone wolves howling in the dark. It’s truly beyond ridiculous.

  21. triadwolf 07/12/2011 at 10:38 AM #

    …Begins with a book (initially turned down by reputable publishers for questionable content) that is basically a work of fiction. Results in an NCAA investigation in concert with investigations from the FBI, SBI, Poole Commission, The UNC Board of Governors, News & Observer (and other media members), Bob the neighbor, and my yet to be born kids. Findings: Some players selling complementary tickets & practice shoes for cash; lack of emphasis on academic performance. Results: The dismissal of head coach, chancellor, probation, etc., and 20 years of athletic purgatory.

    …Begins with a player admitting to thousands of people via a tweet that he is partying with the NFL and agents in exotic locations with someone else flipping the bill. Only after some media members bring it to light does an investigation by the NCAA begin followed by investigations by SFN, and??? Findings to date: Academic Fraud, Assistant Head Coach as Agent Runner, Cash & Benefits for Multiple Players, etc. Results: TBD

  22. Alpha Wolf 07/12/2011 at 11:19 AM #

    Triad:

    UNC=Golden Child.
    NCSU=red headed stepchild.

  23. packof81 07/12/2011 at 11:49 AM #

    So now, what is a UNC diploma worth?

  24. JeremyH 07/12/2011 at 12:24 PM #

    a lot more if they get away with it

  25. WolftownVA81 07/12/2011 at 12:31 PM #

    An idea for a poster playing on the cut and paste theory:

    Cut N Paste:
    2007 NCSU W UNC L
    2008 NCSU W UNC L
    2009 NCSU W UNC L
    2010 NCSU W UNC L
    2011 NCSU UNC

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