This whole Kaavya Viswanathan plagiarism thing really does seem scurvy on several fronts…
A note to Ms. Viswanathan: if you need some material in future, please don’t hesitate to plagiarize from one of my books. I could use the massive, world-wide publicity! All jokes aside, hang in there, Kaavya. This nightmare will end eventually and life will go on.
I’m reminded of the Oceanography course I took to get my science credit at university. During the final exam, the T.A. caught a young man copying out answers from a piece of paper he had hidden in his lap. When she demanded that he hand over the evidence he promptly stuck the offending piece of paper in his mouth.
The other T.A. came over and tried to forcibly remove the cheat sheet. Soon the two T.A.s were hanging off the cheater, trying to pry open his teeth. The three combatants ended up ROLLING down the stairs to the front of the classroom. The fight stopped only when a large body-builder type, perhaps experiencing a bit of ‘roid rage to go along with his exam anxiety, said he was going to kick all three of their asses if they didn’t shut up and let him finish.
The T.A.s got off the cheater, who swallowed the last of his answer sheet before running out of the class.
Now, the cheat sheet eater didn’t get a $500,00 advance for his Oceanography exam, nor was he hailed as the hot new thing in Oceanography. But, like Kaavya, he tried to take a shortcut and got nailed. I’d imagine that he was acting alone, unlike Kaavya, who seems to have had several different people, all with a financial stake in the outcome, helping her write her book. The cheater’s shame and failure were not covered in every newspaper in the world. I’m not even sure what happened to him, whereas anyone who’s been following the Kaavya story knows she’s lost her two book deal, her film deal, and her reputation. I hope the cheater from my class went on to be a productive member of society (although he’s probably not someone you’d want to consult on matters of Oceanography.) I hope the same for Miss Viswanathan.