With regards to cheating, or the educationally preferred euphemism “academic dishonesty,” most of us have probably heard nothing but negativity directed towards the topic. But as expectations to perform in our high-pressure cooker of a community have risen, more and more students have opted out to take the easy road to good grades. With Duke University’s 2005 survey statistics stating 75 percent of high school students admit to cheating, we have to wonder if the future of our country is destined for more Enron and Watergate scandals. It’s often been said that “cheating only hurts the cheater”—but is this necessarily true?

The truth is that cheaters aren’t only detriments to themselves. Academically, the repercussions of low integrity can affect a whole group of students, specifically the others also taking the same exam. While this occurs in curved classes when grades are based on overall student performance, it is not the only situation in which cheaters’ poor judgment has led to mass consequences.

In July, 690 Advanced Placement (AP) tests taken by students at Trabuco Hills High School in Orange County were voided because of the cheating that was going on via text messages and study aides. The uproar that ensued was justified—a massive retake was scheduled the August before seniors started college—giving the cheaters ample time to study and another chance at taking the test while forcing everyone to prepare for the exams again long after the school year had ended.

Cheaters succeed without learning the material, a fact that should scare us all. If a student makes a habit out of being academically dishonest, it is unlikely that he or she will discontinue his or her ways unless caught at some point. According to the Educational Testing Service, cheating in colleges and universities has soared because it no longer carries the stigma it did in the past. Though students generally feel like they aren’t affecting anyone else, they are bound to run into issues if their performance does not match the degree. No one wants to be protected by police who used notes on a CPR exam or a Coast Guard marine who cheated on his federal pilot’s license, yet both examples of cheating have been reported.

But the real question is what to do when a cheating situation arises. We can’t count on cheaters to turn themselves in, just as a murderer probably wouldn’t go down to the station to take a voluntary mug. A cheating scandal requires investigation. When a student at Saratoga High School was accused of hacking into a teacher’s electronic grade book, his laptop was searched. The officials found that the student had used KeyStrokes, a system that records the keys that are hit, which was utilized when the teacher punched in her password.

Cheating plants a seed for a future of lies and deception. A 2001 study published by the Journal of Education for Business found that students “who engage in dishonest behavior in their college classes [are] more likely to engage in dishonest behavior on the job.” If cheating leads to crime, then it should be evaluated in the same way. Our legal system makes one thing clear: protection of the rights of society takes precedent before condemning any criminal. If evidence is found illegally, it is not allowed into court because the way it was obtained threatens the rights of the alleged criminal—and when one person’s rights are violated, it threatens the foundation of our democracy. Apply this to situations of academic dishonesty, and we’ll see that the rest of the students should be protected over the punishment of the cheaters. If the cheaters can’t be punished based on lack of adequate proof, then it makes even less sense to punish the entire group of students.

Trabuco Hills High School student Jina Lee said, “I don’t see how just because the administration didn’t do their job in making sure these guidelines were followed, the student body should be punished.” Neither do I, Jina. Neither do I.