The Case of Amanda Serpico a former Rutgers student who was accused of plagiarism in her “Argumentation” course at the college. As part of the class, she wrote an opinion paper arguing on the politics of gay marriage. While everything seemed well after turning in the assignment, two days before Christmas (after the course had ended and she was on break), the instructor of the course emailed her and informed her that plagiarism had been detected in her work. Ms. Serpico was not allowed to discuss the accusation, and did the only thing she could do try to prove her innocence by writing appeals to the university administration board. Unfortunately, they were rejected. As a result, she received an “F” grade and failed the course.
