The cheating epidemic at West Shore is worse than most teachers would think. The rate at which students are getting stealthier with their cheating is surpassing the rate at which teachers can catch onto the cheating, and it is due to students having a better understanding of technology.

Whether it be a group chat for sharing answers or using a phone or watch for answers discretely during a test, even the virtuous West Shore is not safe from modern-day dishonesty. While cheating is to be expected at any school, I believe it occurs more here for one significant reason: The competitive nature of the school promotes an environment of using any means necessary to maintain straight A’s.

It can seem to students that letters and numbers on your transcript dictate what college you will get into, and therefore how successful your life will be. Not to mention the fear some students have when thinking of how their parents will react to their B (Remember: A for average, B for below average). Between the pressure of maintaining A’s for college admission purposes and the pressure put on students by their parents, a majority of students in each grade will use any means necessary to be among one of the 20 valedictorians at graduation.

This, however, doesn’t mean that they should necessarily be expelled or extremely punished, and it’s even hard to say they’re entirely at fault. These kinds of dishonest students are a product of their environment, of a flawed system where impossible standards can only be met by insincere means. 

By Dylan O’Bryan