Why is it important not to plagiarize?

First of all, it is essentially stealing to plagiarize. If you plagiarize at Severn, you run the risk of getting a zero for an assignment, receiving a suspension, or even being expelled from school. In every case, plagiarism is an honor code violation, and you will find yourself in front of the Honor Court. In college, the consequences are likely to be even more severe.

Plagiarism stories from the news
There are numerous stories from the news involving plagiarism at the college level. In 2007 a University of Colorado professor was fired after University officials learned that he had plagiarized some of his scholarly research. And in 2002 45 students at the University of Virginia were dismissed from the University when it was discovered that they had plagiarized papers for a Physics class.

The case of the students at UVa should be of particular interest to Severn students because that University has a long standing honor code that is respected by many. As Severn has just implemented its own student-written honor code, it is important that we all join in the community of trust that the Honor Code tries to encourage. While deciding not to plagiarize may be tough for some people or in some situations, avoiding plagiarism is the honest thing to do.