OddFile: Cheat on a Test, Go To Hell
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Cheat on a test, go to hell. At least if you’re in Professor Tang’s class:
Frustrated over cheating allegations, one professor at Middle Tennessee State University took the idea of a traditional honor code in a controversial direction.
Suspecting that one of his MBA candidates had just cheated on an exam, Professor Thomas Tang had each of them sign a pledge that said if they had cheated, they’d be condemned to an eternity in Hell.
The pledge went on to say if the student cheated they will “be sorry for the rest of [their] life and go to Hell.”
“He issued this pledge and asked them to sign it,” explained Tom Tozer, Director of News and Public Affairs at the university. “Certainly some students had called the department chair and complained that they were asked to sign this [honor code] they found it offensive.”
Tang was inspired by a study by Dan Ariely, which found that people recalling the 10 Commandments before a test were less likely to cheat. You can see a PDF of the pledge Tang distributed here.
Folks were pretty upset, so Tang had to bend a little. He says he’s keeping the pledge, but “As for the last part, about going to Hell, Tang said he would probably leave that out in the future.”
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