The cause and the effect
I gave my second semester honestly, abiding by the rules drawn by the college. I scored low grades. The class average had gone high, as many students were cheating. At that point, I asked myself a question, "Why didn't I cheat?". Eventually, I started cheating in my (third) semester tests, and I started scoring good marks.
I think the people who don't cheat are at a loss as the quiz patterns are overwhelming. We are expected to solve ten numerical questions within ten minutes in a quiz. This is really very tough if we are doing it alone. It can be said that because of these strict and terrible quiz policies, the students are forced to cheat. The faculties are not concerned if there is heavy rain or a network issue. The submissions are delayed by a few minutes due to network hiccups. This leads to a deduction of 2 to 5 marks which breaks down the morale of students. Sitting in front of a laptop, the entire day is really very difficult. We face backaches, headaches, fatigue and many such other problems. There are times when your family needs you, but you can't help them because of strict deadlines. These things too, unfortunately, instigate me to use the easy way up.
Not studying yourself and completely relying on cheating is not the right way to score good marks. The drill is to study your part and make good friends. Professors give huge syllabus and set lengthy papers by providing very less time. So we divided the syllabus, and that helped me a lot. And I completely understand the risk of being met with a DISCO, but if you have a trustworthy group of friends, you can surely make it happen!
Grades, Knowledge & Offline Semester
Indeed, knowledge matters more than grades, but most of the college life factors have, unfortunately, "CG Boundaries". I prioritise many facets of my college life, along with studies. It seems tough for me to imagine myself just studying in college. My college expectations are a holistic development where academics play a major role, but not all of it. As compared to online semesters, there is a fragile possibility of cheating in the offline semester. But as all the students are sailing in the same ship, the class average won't shoot up. Thus there wouldn't be any need to cheat. These thoughts crossed my mind too. How will I study when the semester resumes in offline mode? How will I give my exams without cheating? As I have given my exams solely on my merit before this pandemic, I am confident that I would be able to do the same once the college resumes.
My parents have asked me a few times regarding what is the use of cheating? I told them that I wouldn't cheat if there is no need to cheat.
The writer wishes to remain anonymous for several reasons.