Whitman's cheating scandal causes a stir

The removal and reinstatement of Walt Whitman High School's SGA president, who cheated on an exam, has drawn county-wide attention from parents, students, teachers, and even a Washington Post columnist.

Austin Lavin, elected SGA president last year, cheated on the Honors Modern World History semester exam in June. Principal Jerome Marco suspended him but was overruled by the community superintendent, Frank Stetson.

Lavin wrote notes on a small piece of paper and hid them inside his baseball cap when he went to take the exam. His teacher caught him, confiscated the hat, and reported him to the principal. Marco gave Lavin a failing grade for the Modern World History exam and class, and removed him from the SGA position.

Stetson overruled Marco's decision during the summer. Stetson pointed to the Whitman student handbook, which lists as a penalty for cheating that the student will fail the activity on which he or she cheated. It has no provision for penalizing the related class grade or affecting the student's participation in student government or sports teams.

Lavin received a failing grade for the exam but a passing grade in the class, making his punishment no worse than a student who performed poorly but honestly.

Whitman's SGA constitution dictates that removing an officer requires a two-thirds vote by the General Assembly. The General Assembly voted 51 to 19 in favor of keeping Lavin after an impeachment trial on Sept 14.

Social Studies teacher Bob Mathis argued against Lavin at the trial, urging the delegates to "send out the right message: that you care about honesty, integrity, and trust."

Lavin responded by restating his commitment to fighting academic dishonesty. "I am a better person that I was three years ago," he said. "I want to make sure you guys can learn from my mistakes."

The Black and White, Whitman's student-run paper, published an article detailing the impeachment trial on Sept 18. The issue also featured an editorial and letters to the editor from Lavin and math teacher Russ Ruston.

Ruston told the Delegates "you have chosen very poorly" and commended the 19 representatives with the courage to "do the right thing."

Lavin defended himself and asked for forgiveness. "Over the last three months I have spent countless hours thinking about what I did and why it was wrong," he wrote.

Lavin also called for a new Honor Code that the student body would accept and follow. "The Honor Code must be an undertaking of the students, individually and collectively," he wrote.

Many teachers felt disbelief at Lavin's reinstatement. "I don't think he has the right to be president," said teacher Suzanne Coker in the Black and White article.

This issue might have faded away if not for Marc Fisher's column in the Washington Post's Metro section on Oct 18. He called Marco's action a "good move; good lesson; good, public stance against cheating," and bemoaned the superintendent's reversal based on "a dumb, weak rule."

Fisher also called this event an example of the problems with the school system. "Until principals are granted authority to run their schools, to set a tone and to build a community, schools remain mired in a bureaucratic fog," his column read.

Carl Lavin, Austin's father, asked Whitman administrators to remove a letter to the editor in Black and White and to take out a portion of the videotaped trial, emphasized his son's right to privacy. The Black and White issues were locked up briefly before Marco decided against the father's request.

Carl Lavin works as an editor for the New York Times, prompting parents, teachers, and Fisher to point out the irony of a member of the press calling for censorship of a public event. Lavin said that his job is irrelevant; his relationship to the school system is a parent, and as such he wants his son's privacy to be protected.