Perils of plagiarism

Plagiarism - one of the most terrifying things a University of the Philippines student could do in his/her life.

You see, we at UP may lose our "Iskolar ng Bayan" status if we plagiarize in any way and at any given time. The university upholds very high standards for research and original work. Even professors who plagiarize are sanctioned more than students are.

During exams, we remind ourselves that the safe head positions include only looking up as in praying,  looking straight ahead as in thinking and  looking down as in answering the questions. A small look sideways may put you in a position to be expelled - the ultimate no-no of a UP student especially that it is no joke entering the university.

A man by the name of Mark Solis who also hails from the same university tried to copy-paste his way out of the country by joining the Smiles of the World photo contest organized by the Chilean Ambassador to Manila. The photo of a kid emerging from a body of water with seaweeds was heartwarming causing him to win the contest.

Yet the Internet is a big stage. The original owner of the photo, Gregory John Smith from Brazil saw his picture win the said contest. He then demanded that the prize money of Solis be given to his foundation Child at Risk. Solis lost his prestige and stained his name.

But Smith was not actually complaining about plagiarism, he was saying Solis was infringing his copyright.

The difference between plagiarism and copyright infringement is the academic concept. Plagiarism is when you fail to cite other people's work and claim it as yours. Copyright infringement, on the other hand, touches on economic concepts such as profit and gain.

But no matter what offense was done, Solis still did manage to steal other people's work as his own especially when reports have said that this was not his first time to submit unoriginal photos for contests.

I do not know how he gets away with it and I wanted to ask him if there was any pang of guilt as he was doing his game. As a UP student, he should have known better the consequences of the actions.

Studying in one of the prestigious universities is an honor and a privilege. At the end of the journey, you get to give back to the country by applying what you have learned to your specific field. However, you cannot copy-paste your way to success in any way.

According to the law, no one goes to jail for plagiarism but your reputation will be ruined, plus those connected to you. He was lucky that Smith did not file a case against him or he might be facing serious sanctions.

No wonder UP officials wanted to probe his academic status in the university. Others are also clamoring to have his undergraduate degree officially removed.

But now the story is moving forward especially that Smith has accepted the apology of Solis' mother. While Solis may be young, it doesn't mean that he could not put ethics above his aspirations because it trespasses on the property of others.

I guess the lesson of the story is to always be honest. We were taught in our developing years that honesty is the best policy, it will always be. In whatever circumstance, a lie will never get you through in life and like they said, "the truth will set you free."

At the end of the day, it is always best to be authentic, to be you. There is no need to claim other people's work as yours. We can always do what we are good at.

The damage may never be repaired along with the public shame it has brought, but we can always learn from the mistakes of others.