To readers of The Mirror:
Over the course of the past week, it was discovered that a Mirror contributor submitted a column in the Feb. 12, 2009 issue that contained unoriginal statements, which were previously written by a popular nonfiction author. The contributor was swiftly contacted by Mirror editors and was asked to no longer write for us.
Let it be known that the individual did express regret for not giving credit to the original author in the column. However, forgetting to cite material that was a near-perfect match to the content expressed in the best-selling book does not warrant a second chance for this individual.
The Mirror does not tolerate any acts of plagiarism. Presenting the work of another individual as one’s own, falsifying quotes or purposefully creating content that does not reflect the true nature of a subject or event is strictly against The Mirror’s longstanding ethics code. Common sense also dictates that when students use work that is not their own, they should always give credit as an assertion of intellectual property. When someone plagiarizes, he or she not only puts his or her own reputation at risk but also violates the trust of other individuals involved in a given project. While we are not saying that this incident defines the former Mirror contributor as a person, it does make us question the other work that has been submitted in the past.
As readers of The Mirror are well aware, we are an independent and student-run publication and we have much to prove. When a writer falsifies information or submits non-original material, he or she puts our publication’s credibility at risk and threatens the trust readers place in our work.
This letter is not meant to harm the contributor’s reputation; rather, it is meant as a statement of how serious we take our responsibilities toward accurate and fair reporting at The Mirror as well as the protection of intellectual property.
For future reference, if you notice any instance of plagiarized material or other content that you feel deems clarification or correction, please e-mail us at themirror.feedback@gmail.com.
Sincerely,
Alexandra Gross, Editor in Chief
Tom Cleary, Managing Editor
Lily Norton, Assistant Managing Editor
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