STAFF EDIT: Proving History

At Boston University, plagiarism is punished by suspension, and in some cases, even expulsion. This is similar to other academic conduct codes at colleges and universities around the county. When someone outside of a learning institution fails to meet these standards, it is expected that they should also pay a heavy price.

Recently, some well-known authors have been criticized for allegedly failing to cite works used in various books. Historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Stephen Ambrose, specifically, have been under attack since it was discovered some of their works contain passages resembling those from other authors’ works. In cases such as these, any materials written by the offending authors that may be used in any school curricula should be removed.

Any author who has plagiarized material in a published work cannot be trusted with contributing to the academic instruction of students. To prevent the spreading of false information, the author’s plagiarized works must be taken from a school’s circulation. Without removal, students will be taught facts under false pretenses — or worse yet, lies.

Authors whose works are used in class should be role models to students. By teaching works containing cases of plagiarism, schools are not setting a good example for their students.

Goodwin and Ambrose, however, have a number of works available in addition to the offending ones, and it is currently unproven that they all hold plagiarized passages. Until proven to be plagiarized, these books should not be removed from school curricula. It cannot be assumed that if an author used false or copied information in one work, their entire catalogue is tainted.

The works of these authors must be investigated with a higher degree of scrutiny to be sure the content is valid. However, until proof of plagiarism is found, schools should continue to use these works as teaching tools, understanding them to be facts. It is merely the old rule of innocent until proven guilty.