Student Blog: Academic Integrity In The Arts

Academic integrity. It’s the hot topic on everyone’s tongue as educational institutions grapple with both the creative possibilities and the moral quandaries presented by the use of artificial intelligence programs in academic contexts. But even before the recent rise of ChatGPT, academic honesty and cheating prevention have always been held to the highest importance in schools. I’m sure we have all experienced paranoid thoughts about forgetting to cite a source or unknowingly plagiarizing on an assignment and getting kicked out of college at some point or another. On the other hand, I’m sure we have also all experienced some level of temptation to cheat on an online exam or use unoriginal work when the stress of deadlines get the better of us, especially in the busy last weeks of school when tests and assignments begin to pile up. The struggle to maintain academic integrity is one that every student faces in their life, simply by nature of being human. But what exactly does academic integrity look like for students pursuing education in more artistic, creative fields, like theatre?

Broadly speaking, an education in the arts doesn’t emphasize the memorization of facts and the execution of precise written processes in the same way that other areas of study do, such as STEM. The curriculum isn’t so much about getting the objective right or wrong answer on a test, but rather asks students to exercise their personal creativity in grappling with the deeper, more unanswerable questions posed to humanity. More classes are project based rather than quiz and exam based, requiring students to produce original creative work and deliver personal artistic interpretations on a consistent basis, as opposed to simply memorizing and regurgitating information on a test. For those in theatre, many classes may even be performance based, requiring students to manifest that creativity with their entire being rather than through a project that can be physically turned in. So, what role does academic integrity play in the life of these types of students? You can’t exactly look to Chegg, ChatGPT, or Quizlet to help you cheat in real time on the final performance for your acting class (and I’m not endorsing that you use them to cheat in any other classes). But does that mean that theatre students and other artists can’t struggle with maintaining academic integrity? Of course not. 

The biggest and most obvious struggle is with forms of stolen work, or plagiarism. I’m not talking about simply copying and pasting a paragraph you found in a web article directly into your essay, but rather the broader artistic struggle of creating original work while respectfully drawing inspiration from others. Part of the beauty of the art world is that everyone is constantly borrowing from and building off of each other’s work to bring glorious new creations, interpretations, etc. into existence. However, sometimes the line between drawing inspiration from someone’s work and completely copying it can become a bit blurred. Still, it is a line we should make an effort to discern and respect. As much as possible, honor your own inner creativity by working hard to produce your own original ideas before looking to the ideas of others. If you’ve ever taken an acting class, you’ve probably been told not to look up a video of someone performing your monologue so as you will inadvertently end up imitating their performance. The same principle applies to any creative pursuit. That being said, artist’s block can be a major obstacle, especially in an academic setting where your creativity is constrained by a deadline. And truth be told, we live at a point in history where most of our “original” ideas have already been thought of or executed in some way, shape, or form by someone else. And what successful artist doesn’t have muses and inspirations? Therefore, the best way to combat this sort of “plagiarism” is with the same method you would use in a more traditionally academic setting: giving credit where credit is due. Without getting into the formalities of copyright law, being honest about your sources of artistic inspiration with the same intentionality with which you would cite an academic source on a research paper allows you to respect the hard work and creativity of others while using it as a launch point for your own ideas to take off. As creatives ourselves, we know how meaningful it is when others let us know how our work has impacted and inspired their own, as well as how frustrating it is when people pass off our work as their own. Thus, in academia and beyond, we should maintain our integrity by doing what is right and giving credit to those who deserve it.

The other situation in which academic integrity often comes into peril is not one that is necessarily unique to arts majors; however, it is definitely something I have seen several of my arts major peers fall victim to. The phenomenon to which I am referring is the decision of students to cheat their way through general education courses based on the belief that they are “useless” courses that aren’t worth putting actual effort into due to their irrelevancy to students’ specialized areas of study. In the arts crowd, this strategy is often utilized to get through state core math and science courses, particularly those that are facilitated online. In regards to these types of classes, I’ve definitely heard people theorizing about methods for cheating on online exams without flagging the proctoring software, or discussing the best resources for finding answers to copy and paste into quizzes. Now, I want to make it clear that I’m not trying to claim that I’m morally superior to these people; believe me, I understand the temptation. As a theatre major, I know that there is an extremely low possibility that I will ever practically apply the knowledge from my earth science course during my future career, which lowers my motivation to study. However, here is what I will say. Regardless of how useful you may perceive a certain class to be, cheating is simply not edifying. Not only are you being dishonest with your instructors, but you are often being dishonest with yourself— deceiving the capable person that you are into believing that you can’t learn certain material. You got into college for a reason— your outstanding intelligence and proven ability to learn. So use it! Likewise, you are going to college for a reason— to further develop that intelligence by acquiring new skills and knowledge through your education. So do it! It doesn’t matter what the course topic is; it was put into your curriculum for a reason, and even if you don’t go on to use the knowledge professionally, you will at least be a better, smarter person for taking the honest initiative to learn something new. And never say never! Who knows, that math and science knowledge may end up becoming relevant to your theatre career one day. If there’s anything I learned from taking a dramaturgy course, even knowledge about the most random topics can prove useful to creating well-informed art.

To those out there facing these specific struggles in maintaining academic integrity, know that you are not alone. However, always make it your goal to do what is most honoring to others and yourself by imbuing your work with honesty— whether that means being transparent about your sources of inspiration, or putting your full honest effort into every class you take. If you’re still in school, take this advice into your final few weeks and embody your integrity with pride! Best of luck!