Thoughtful, well-written, even well-titled article about a case of plagiarism at Connecticut College. A popular and high-profile senior, chosen to deliver one of the commencement addresses last year, was found to have plagiarized much of it.
His last name is St. John, and the student journalist writing the piece titles it The Revelation of St. John. Nice.
UD‘s covered quite a few commencement speech plagiarism stories. People really seem to panic when contemplating how to deliver tired truisms in a new way.
… St. John gave his speech alongside Class President Nick Downing, President Lee Higdon and the keynote speaker, philosopher Martha Nussbaum. St. John’s speech was by far the most well-received of Commencement – more relatable and persuasive than even Nussbaum’s.
“The hardest part will be to convince ourselves of the possibilities, and hang on,” he told the crowd on Tempel Green. “If you run out of hope at the end of the day, you must rise in the morning and put it on again with your shoes. Hope is the only reason we won’t give in, burn what’s left of the ship and go down with it. You have to love that so earnestly – you, who were born into the Age of Irony.
“Imagine getting caught with your optimism hanging out in today’s day and age. It feels so risky.”
… In November, according to Vice President of College Relations Patricia Carey, a member of the Administration received an anonymous note suggesting that St. John’s speech was plagiarized. Upon closer inspection, they found that extensive passages and many phrases were not St. John’s but writer Barbara Kingsolver’s, from her 2008 commencement address to Duke University. Roughly a third of his speech, including the most noteworthy lines and general theme, clearly derive from Kingsolver’s writing. Her speech became the skeleton for his.
Kingsolver’s address, entitled “How to be Hopeful,” is one of Education Portal’s 10 Famous and Noteworthy College Commencement Speeches, listed alongside speeches by Winston Churchill, Jon Stewart and Steve Jobs. It has been reprinted on various websites in its entirety.
“The hardest part will be to convince yourself of the possibilities, and hang on,” her address said. “If you run out of hope at the end of the day, to rise in the morning and put it on again with your shoes. Hope is the only reason you won’t give in, burn what’s left of the ship and go down with it. The ship of your natural life and your children’s only shot. You have to love that so earnestly – you, who were born into the Age of Irony. Imagine getting caught with your Optimism hanging out. It feels so risky.”
April 21st, 2010 at 12:12PM
I feel like the only thing more ironic than this is getting caught plagiarizing a post/article about plagiarism.
I wonder if he’ll also plagiarize his response to the charges.
April 22nd, 2010 at 7:14AM
Having sat through about a quarter century of these suckers, I personally would grant an exemption from anti-plagiarism rules, as long as they plagiarize something interesting. Ditto for the main speaker. Pres. Backslapper needs no exemption, since no one can understand what he is mumbling anyway.