Should plagiarism be forgiven?

By Vanessa (Age 14, St. Paul's Convent)

Do you know teachers always make students put a "credits" page in their presentations? It's because if they don't, then they're basically committing a crime. Since students find most of their information from the internet, it is essential that they must credit someone or something for it.

When a person commits plagiarism, not only are they going against copyright laws and human rights, but they are also disrespecting the person whom they are stealing from. Here's an example: what do you feel when you discover that someone, some jerk, took credit for something you worked really hard for? That essay which took up your whole weekend and made you miss your best friend's birthday, the very essay that you knew would score you an A, that exact piece of writing that you thought would mark as the perfect end of your school life... there is no doubt that you'll feel ripped off, furious, enraged, mad, irritated, murderous... You'll want to torture him like there's no tomorrow and throw him into the depths of hell. Every ill thought possible to man will likely fill your thoughts until you can get your revenge. Sadly, although plagiarism isn't something that people welcome, that doesn't prevent them from committing it.

Most people commit plagiarism because they have run out of ideas. They desperately need to ace something, but lack the ability and creativity, so they resort to copying other people. Nonetheless, one should never mix plagiarism with inspiration, imitation, or influence. The previous three are cases when one incoporates someone else's idea into a whole new thing. Plagiarism is when a person claims someone's idea as theirs, which is basically taking credit for what isn't rightfully theirs. In Tobias Wolff's novel, Old School, the main character stole a girl's story, called it his own, and submitted the story for a competition. He won the competition, but was then expelled when the school discovered what he did. Similar to lying, there are consequences for plagiarism. Nothing good comes from copying someone's idea, not even if you credit them, because the content inside isn't yours. Just like a snowball effect, you'll have to copy more and more until one day, the fragile structure of your lie gives in and everything crumbles.

Although plagiarism is bad, it is actually happening everywhere, even in the smallest places. Take the Maxim breakfast that I'm currently having as an example. It's a set with deep-fried fish fillet, scrambled eggs, a piece of bread, and a drink. Originally, the same set was available only at Fairwood. However, as it became an instant hit, the set was then copied by Cafe de Coral and Maxim. Despite the fact that everyone commits plagiarism, it does not mean that it should be accepted or copied. You won't go jump off the roof just because everyone does that, would you? No matter how one looks at it, plagiarism isn't a thing that should be easily overlooked or forgiven.

So, when should a plagiarist be forgiven for his or her mistake? The situation depends entirely on them. If they are willing to repent and turn over a new leaf, people should respect and trust them again. However, only people who are willing to admit their mistakes and change have the right to earn respect, because if they continue to do wrong or don't even bother to forgive themselves, how can they expect other people to forgive them?