8A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 1, 1998 Soul of Maryland liberal arts college is challenged. The Baltimore Sun ANNAPOLIS, Md. -At St. John's College, education is an act of faith. Faith in the desire to learn and in the Great Books used to gain such wisdom. Faith in the ability to accom- plish this task on your own. And faith in a sys- tem that puts its faith in students to do so. The aims at this tiny liberal arts college seem higher, purer than at most schools. Here, knowledge is pursued for its own sake. Great bodies of work are read in order to be poked, prodded and torn apart; ideas that great thinkers have expounded upon for thousands of years are re-examined and turned upside down. Finally, each student uses all those semesters of learning to thoughtfully write, present and defend a major piece of work dur- ing their senior year. It's a system that St. John's has taken pride in for more than six decades, since the creation of the school's revered New Program curricu- lum established it as one of the most presti- gious and quirkiest liberal arts schools in the country. Which explains why, more than a year since one bright, well-thought-of student showed how easily that system could be fooled, and since others who learned of her deception failed to report it, St. John's is still debating what some have termed a "treasonous" act: the plagiarism of a senior essay, an essay awarded one of the school's top prizes. With a new semester under way, school offi- cials are adamant that their system remains intact. But a school dedicated to tackling civi- lization's great questions still seems confound- ed by a few of its own: Why, at a school where grades are not important (they aren't even handed out); where there are no lectures, no tests and no research papers; and where suc- cess is determined by abstract and subjective measurements based on participation and ana- lytical ability, would anyone choose to cheat? And what, if anything, should be done to pre- vent its happening again? Lynette Dowty might have gotten away with it. But, like some fatally flawed character in the Greek tragedies she'd studied, she proved to be her own undoing. She arrived at the Annapolis campus in the fall of 1993, having come from her home in Granite Bay, Calif., to attend St. John's. Almost immediately she stood out among the school's 400 students. Physically striking, nearly 5-foot-10 with long, wild red hair, she was bright, talented, charming, slightly cynical. "She wanted to project strong," said Kamielle Shaffer, who got to know Lynette in her junior year. "She enjoyed being noticed. She liked being the center of attention." Not an easy task at St. John's. "This is an unusual place. It is not for every- body, said William Braithwaite, a St. John's tutor - there are no "professors" here - for three years. "The students who choose to come here are highly self-selective, creating a richness of conversation going on here that cannot be imi- tated at any college or university in the nation." Students are drawn by the curriculum known simply as the Program. Created in 1937, it is a unified, all-required curriculum based on classic works of literature. All stu- dents read the same books, in the same order. There are no majors, no departments. Just reading and oral and written debate. It's the Program that attracts thousands of applications every year despite tuition and fees of about $27,000 per year. For students, the payoff is an intimate edu- cation with class sizes no larger than 20. These 18- to 22-year-olds will tell you, without cracking a smile, that they are here to learn important things from Homer, Plato, Herodotus, Aristotle, Kant and Nietzsche. It was in this environment that Dowty decid- ed to commit academia's worst offense. May 18, 1997 was commencement day for the 90 seniors. Sitting with her classmates, Kamielle Shaffer found herself crying. On stage above her stood Dowty, smiling and waving as she accepted the school's covet- ed Senior Essay Prize. "I was horrified. Enraged. Stunned. How could anyone do this and get away with it?" said Shaffer, a soft-spoken, 23-year-old woman. "I was watching this huge wrong that's been done and wondering, 'How do I deal with it?"' What Shaffer and a handful of others in the St. John's community were dealing with that day was the rumor that Dowty's prize-winning essay was a fraud. The rumor had been making the rounds since April, when Dowty herself had apparently confided in a friend. That any student would choose to cheat was hard to accept, let alone Dowty, who, by all accounts, was more than capable of writing a prize-winning essay. Zoe Andriolo, who befriended Dowty when they were first-year students said, "I always knew her as an excellent writer. Everyone did." When Dowty announced in September 1996 that she'd chosen "Moby Dick" as the subject for her senior essay, few were surprised; Herman Melville's tale was her favorite. She told friends she had spent six weeks over the summer study- ing the novel, even drafting the first pages of h@ essay. By the essay deadline at the end of January, she had gone through several drafts with her tutor. That spring came the whispers about Dowty. And then commencement day and the prize. Despite her tears that day, Shaffer left school without saying anything. "Was it my right to say something?" she asked. "I wasn't so sure then and I'm still not. I left it all behind." The whispers finally reached school offi- cials the next winter, after tutor John Ver learned of the Dowty rumor. St. John's quickly launched an investigation. After two months, it was determined that Dowty's essay was "essentially identical" and "unmistakably copied" from an essay by 1976 graduate David E.R. Clement. U RUSH Continued fromI winter term," trate on adjusting to Graham said. college life,' Page lA said Shmel Graham, Who and What is ZS? ZS Associates is a global management consulting firm providing world-class expertise in sales force management and marketing issues. Will 1 Fit in? ZS will beon campus recruiting: Business Information Sciences Software Developers financial secretary of Delta Sigma Theta. Some BGA organizations also require that perspective members main- tain a certain grade point average as well as postpone admission into the group until sophomore year. Even though some students might think the rules are strict, Graham said they are for the benefit of the potential member. "It gives applicants time to concen- "It's an asset. They learn how to bud- get time and can also look at other orga- nizations. Sororities are not the only way to get involved on campus," said Graham, an LSA junior. When the intake process does occur, the rules are very different from the Panhellenic rush regulations, which insist that the candidates visit all 17 houses. "We always encourage people to look at other sororities and research the his- tories to see what one fits their needs," Graham said. "But there is no formal ,1. When Can 1 Meet ZS? October 6 Job Fair'98 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. Michigan Union Are you ready for the GRE? The November 7th GRE is the last time to take the paper & pencil exam until April 1999. 'THE PRINCETON REVIEW Call Today! Space is limited! -19 Courses begin October 31' in: Ann Arbor Birmingham East Lansing setting that if you visit this one, you should visit others too." LSA first-year student Ronda Tate said she is interested in joining a soror- ity next year to gain close friendships and participate in activities that benefit the community. Tate said she appreciates the rule that requires her to be of sophomore stand- ing before entering sorority life. Rush "would be too overwhelming,' Tate said. "I think we should have to wait. I wouldn't rush this year if I could." Another way the intake process in culturally based sororities can differ from the Panhellenic rush is in the way members of the sororities interact with potential members. The intake process in Delta Tau Lambda, a Latino/a-oriented sorority of six members, encourages potential mem- bers to attend group events after the first informational meeting in the fall. This is very different from Panhel regulations, which require sororities to not interact with members until the completion of the rush process. Alejandra Montes, president of Delta Tau Lambda, said this interaction allows potential members to get a sense of the group's focus. "It exposes them to what we really do;' Montes said. "If they are still interested, they can then become members in the winter term after the interview process." Lambda Phi Epsilon, an Asian-inter- est based fraternity of 30 members, won't be selecting new members t* fall either. "We have a lot of new brothers, and we decided to strengthen those bonds instead of having a rush process" said Mike Fu, treasurer for the fraternity. "We did have an informational meet- ing though, and we are having events now like barbecues in order to get to know people," Fu said. Joe Kim, an Engineering first-year student, said he wants to join a fraterni- ty to meet new people. "I came with a group cf friends fro# high school, but I wan. to expand my network," Kim said. Kim said the fact that the fraternity he is interested in won't be taking new members until winter term doesn't dis- courage him. "It's fine," Kim said. "I can use the time to evaluate other fraternities at the same time. One of the few culturally based org* nizations that is conducting rush activi- ties at this time is the Asian sorority Alpha Kappa Delta Phi. Suki Kuang, public relations officer for the group, said the chapter chose to have fall rush because it is has proven to be very effective. "We have a winter rush too, but fall rush is more successful because there are a lot of incoming freshmen looking for a place to belong," said Kuang, a6 LSA sophomore. ZS Associates www.zsassociates.com e-mail: careers@zsassociates.com USA: Evanston, Illinois Princeton, New Jersey Menlo Park, California Miami, Florida (Fall 1999) Europe: London, United Kingdom Frankfurt, Germany Paris, France LS I I University of Michigan students are invited to meet CSC Healthcare Group at our company presentation and reception, Monday, October 5, 1998 4 I I THE HEALTHCARE GROUP OF COMPUiTER SCIENCES CORPORATION (CSC) offers the remarkable resources and unparalleled expertise of the country's largest full-service consulting and information technology (IT) services company committed exclusively to healthcare. AS RECOGNIZED THOUGHT LEADERS in addressing strategic and operational healthcare opportunities and challenges, the management consultants at CSC Healthcare Group (formerly APM Management Consultants) are committed to leveraging their healthcare focus to provide clients with a suite of solutions unmatched in the industry. EXPERTS IN STRATEGY, operations, clinical resource manage- ment, managed care and information systems operate from offices in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Toronto. AT CSC, we understand the power of multi-disciplinary teams and the value they offer to our clients. We believe in bringing together people from different disciplines, with varied knowledge sets and experience into high performance teams focused on the client's success. In doing so, we provide direct client contact at every level of a consultant's career path. This fosters information exchange and mutual support and provides for an intensive learning opportunity. CSC HEALTHCARE GROUP'S clients include many of the nation's top insurance and pharmaceutical organizations as well as many of the country's most respected hospital sys- tems, academic medical centers, community hospitals, group practices and industry associations. CSC Healthcare Group is MBA and MPH Candidates: 4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m., Michigan Union, Anderson Room First Round Associate Interviews-Chicago Office Friday, October 30, 1998 Final Round Associate Interviews-Chicago Office Friday, November 13, 1998 Resume Deadline: October 9, 1998 Undergraduate Candidates: 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m., Michigan Union, Anderson Room First Round Research Associate Interviews-Chicago Office Friday, October 30, 1998 Final Round Research Associate Interviews-Chicago Office Monday, November 23, 1998 Resume Deadline: October 9, 1998 CSC Healthcare Group encourages all University of Michigan graduating seniors, MBA and MPH candidates to submit a resume and cover letter (undergraduates should also include copy of school transcript) to: Karen Lack, Senior Recruiting Coordinator 225 West Washington Street, Suite 2700, Chicago IL 60606 Fax: 312.470.8781 e-mail: klack@cscmail.csc.com 4 I I ii .. , i