Do As I Say, Not As I Do

Q. What do you call it when a Harvard student submits work that's not his own but claims
it is?
A. Plagiarism.

Q. What do you call it when a Harvard professor publishes a book that includes work that's not his own but claims it is?
A. A managed book.

Any questions?

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - When it comes to its students, Harvard University policy shows little tolerance for plagiarism.

Undergraduates found guilty of "misusing sources" will "likely" be required to withdraw from the college for at least two semesters. They will lose all coursework they have done that semester (unless it is virtually over), along with the money they have paid for it. They must also leave Cambridge.

With such a policy for students, what is Harvard to do when two of its most prominent law professors, Charles J. Ogletree Jr. and Laurence H. Tribe, publicly acknowledge that they have unintentionally misused sources, as happened this fall? Weighing in on the matter, Harvard's student newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, said the university appeared to have one set of rules for its famous professors, and another for its students. In an editorial about Professor Ogletree, The Crimson wrote in September that his transgression would likely have resulted in expulsion for a Harvard undergraduate.

..."This is what happens when you have managed books," Professor Gardner said.

Managed books, Professor Gardner said, are a recent phenomenon in which some academics rely on assistants to help them produce books, in some cases allowing the assistants to write first drafts.