Dear readers,
Recently, a member of our staff was notified of an article published last semester in The Miscellany News that had plagiarized a piece from another publication. After comparing the articles in question, we confirmed that the article did indeed significantly plagiarize the article from the other publication. Upon further investigation, we also discovered more articles from this staff member that took from other published articles of this same publication, as well as other publications. We have so far confirmed that as many as 12 articles entirely plagiarized from other publications, with more under investigation.
Plagiarism is a significant breach of journalistic integrity, and thus violates the paper’s bylaws on ethical conduct, as well as our mission to provide honest, fair reporting. Because of this, the staff member in question immediately resigned from their position, and we have removed their articles from the website. In light of this situation, we are taking further action within the organization to prevent this from happening in the future. At the start of the upcoming fall semester, the incoming Upper Executive Board has prioritized an amendment to the bylaws in order to better account for plagiarism, and we plan on establishing stronger procedures to check for plagiarism moving forward.
We are shocked and upset by this reprehensible situation. We value transparency, and wanted to share this statement to keep our readers informed of the situation and the actions we strive to take to resolve it.
Thank you,
The Miscellany News