In the case of the Harvard undergrad, one blogger began pleading her case for a second chance. Another blogger has been staunchly rallying to her cause. But the question is, DOES she deserve a "second chance" with Harvard University?

While there's a tendency for most of us pedestrian Americans to dismiss Harvard students as a bunch of "preppy snobs" (out of jealousy mainly, methinks), the fact is, they have a high standard for admission for most Americans. Granted, they let in their share of "legacies", but even those legacies have to uphold the reputation of the university.

For those who missed it, this Harvard undergrad had a published novel that was discovered to have been lifted to a pretty significant degree from another author. Allegations claim several sources, and with possible good reason. It's a pretty compelling case of plagiarism, and it appears to be pretty substantial.

The thing that gets me about it is, for the plagiarism to pass the scrutiny of the editors, it must have been pretty well disguised. This would indicate some level of experience in stealing the works of others, not the work of an amateur. So this sheds light on the credibility of everything this individual has ever written, from college admission essays to high school papers, and to extracurricular writing activity which was almost certainly used as a basis for admission to Harvard. This means that it is entirely possible that she was admitted to the university under false pretenses.

But let's go further than that, shall we? What do we teach our children if we cannot teach them that it is unacceptable to cheat? If she is allowed to be given a "pass" because of her age, then what of the students who use crib notes on finals? Is a free pass acceptable in the academic community?

I do not believe it is. I believe that one of the things our universities need to instill in our children is character and responsibility. You simply cannot and should not teach children that it is acceptable to gain financially through dishonest means, such as this young lady has done. If this theft were to take place in the corporate world, it could cost one's company a LOT of money (and it DID cost this woman's publisher a lot of money in the printing and release of the book, as well as the subsequent recall after her plagiarism was discovered).

If Harvard does not act against this young lady, their reputation is in jeopardy. They MUST act with a heavy hand against this action. While it may be unfashionable to perceive one's creative product as "work" to someone who does not engage in such, believe me and others when we say that it takes more work than you realize. Someone should not steal that work without penalty.

This lady does deserve to finish her education. But not here. Not at Harvard. She should finish her education at a state college that will accept her and her obvious academic skill, and pay the price for what she did. Not only as a lesson to herself, but to others as well.