by Donald Rapier
I recently published an Op-Ed in the Huffington Post, entitled “Exposed: Blackfish Documentary Affects Big Business and How Anyone Can Help Make a Change,” that talks about the negative effects of keeping orcas and dolphins in captivity. My Op-Ed received 6.7 thousand likes and was shared with more than 1,000 people.
Among these people was State Sen. Greg Ball, New York State’s Republican representative from the 40th district, who is known for supporting the rights of animals. In February, Ball introduced a bill that banned aquariums and sea parks from being able hold orcas in captivity, and later that week the Albany (N.Y.) Times Union discovered that Ball -- really one of Ball’s staffers -- had plagiarized an entire paragraph from my Huffington Post editorial!
The Albany Times Union blew up the story by making it their lead story, harping on the fact that Ball stole not only from me, a 17-year old, but that he also stole from an LA Times interview.
In just hours, the story was all over the country, and I soon found my name popping up all over Google.
I am not angry at all over what has happened, in fact this incident has been great for me. I was mentioned in the Wall Street Journal, interviewed by WGN, and I even got to talk to Sen. Greg Ball.
However, the amount of publicity my plagiarized article has generated has also made me realize that plagiarism is not hard to find, and with 21st century technology it is as easy as a quick Google search.
Furthermore, I no longer believe that Lindblom’s consequences against students who plagiarize are too harsh. The senator’s staffer, who illegally used my words, was actually fired for doing so. The action Ball’s office took opened my eyes. Now I understand how serious plagiarism can be.
As I told the Albany Times Union and WGN-TV; it is not hard to put ideas into your own words, and I really hope that this issue has hit close enough to home. I hope people at Lindblom see how plagiarizing can ruin your life.
I recently published an Op-Ed in the Huffington Post, entitled “Exposed: Blackfish Documentary Affects Big Business and How Anyone Can Help Make a Change,” that talks about the negative effects of keeping orcas and dolphins in captivity. My Op-Ed received 6.7 thousand likes and was shared with more than 1,000 people.
Among these people was State Sen. Greg Ball, New York State’s Republican representative from the 40th district, who is known for supporting the rights of animals. In February, Ball introduced a bill that banned aquariums and sea parks from being able hold orcas in captivity, and later that week the Albany (N.Y.) Times Union discovered that Ball -- really one of Ball’s staffers -- had plagiarized an entire paragraph from my Huffington Post editorial!
The Albany Times Union blew up the story by making it their lead story, harping on the fact that Ball stole not only from me, a 17-year old, but that he also stole from an LA Times interview.
In just hours, the story was all over the country, and I soon found my name popping up all over Google.
I am not angry at all over what has happened, in fact this incident has been great for me. I was mentioned in the Wall Street Journal, interviewed by WGN, and I even got to talk to Sen. Greg Ball.
However, the amount of publicity my plagiarized article has generated has also made me realize that plagiarism is not hard to find, and with 21st century technology it is as easy as a quick Google search.
Furthermore, I no longer believe that Lindblom’s consequences against students who plagiarize are too harsh. The senator’s staffer, who illegally used my words, was actually fired for doing so. The action Ball’s office took opened my eyes. Now I understand how serious plagiarism can be.
As I told the Albany Times Union and WGN-TV; it is not hard to put ideas into your own words, and I really hope that this issue has hit close enough to home. I hope people at Lindblom see how plagiarizing can ruin your life.