Chris Evans tweet just now
I am going through some academic issues right now. I’m working through it now. I will still continue my career at the University of Michigan ! #GoBlue
— Chris Evans (@Kidnplay_abc123) February 5, 2019
Statement from Michigan:
— Aaron McMann (@AaronMcMann) February 5, 2019
"Chris Evans is not a member of the football team at this time."
February 5th, 2019 at 6:17 PM ^
Oh so he cheated? Yeah, he's not coming back to school. That's bad
February 5th, 2019 at 6:23 PM ^
should have kept it quiet, dude. it isn't your place.
somebody, sometime:
"when I'm deciding whether to speak, I ask myself two things: does this need to be said? does this need to be said by me?"
February 5th, 2019 at 6:28 PM ^
It’s already been said on Twitter by Nate Lewis who broke this news yesterday.
February 5th, 2019 at 6:31 PM ^
See above. Most people don't use Twitter, strange as that may seem.
February 5th, 2019 at 6:37 PM ^
That is accurate. It has been floating for more than a week or so in different forms. Nate echoed what he knew at the time.
February 5th, 2019 at 6:46 PM ^
Things like plagiarism have very serious consequences (not saying that’s what the case is here). It’s also very easy to do if you don’t know how to properly source references and the like...unless you just copy or buy papers outright.
As an instructor, it’s always fascinating to see the work available online and see it turned in verbatim from a student.
February 5th, 2019 at 6:51 PM ^
I do know from personal experience that Excel is incredibly easy to catch cheaters. I had an entry level Finance course that had about 8 kids get caught cheating.
February 5th, 2019 at 9:00 PM ^
Can't be GPA related. The fall term has long been in the books. This has to be cheating or plagiarism in a current winter term class. He will likely go on probation for a year without a scholarship. The tough part about that for Chris is he is out of state. The all-in cost for a year at Michigan is now $65k, so can his folks really afford that hit ?
February 5th, 2019 at 6:19 PM ^
Well, hopefully that means there is some sort of path back to the team, so I guess we will see. Chris Evans is one of many players that I really did enjoy watching, and would like to continue doing so.
February 5th, 2019 at 6:20 PM ^
Maybe he means academic career? Still worth it.
February 5th, 2019 at 6:20 PM ^
Could this be a situation where he can salvage his eligibility as a student at Michigan but give up his student athlete status and athletic scholarship?
February 5th, 2019 at 6:42 PM ^
If it was cheating, he probably will fight it, until he inevitably loses.
I think he's just hopeful he will return so he is saying that - I seriously doubt he returns
February 5th, 2019 at 6:45 PM ^
He's getting his way back. I believe in him. I am on his side. I am praying for him!
February 5th, 2019 at 6:58 PM ^
Hope his issue gets resolved and he can be eligible for his final year
February 5th, 2019 at 6:59 PM ^
Regardless of the football outcome, he's always seemed like a smart, high quality guy. I hope he gets his grades in order and gets that degree.
February 5th, 2019 at 7:21 PM ^
My guess is that he has been suspended for a period of time. We all make mistakes. I hope he is able to stay positive and use this as motivation.
Sanctions
If a student is found responsible for academic misconduct, the Office of the Assistant Dean has the authority to determine appropriate administrative sanctions (i.e., sanctions unrelated to a course grade). Sanctions that may be imposed by the Assistant Dean include, but are not limited to:
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a letter of reprimand
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writing of a reflective essay
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a defined period of disciplinary probation, with or without the attachment of conditions, notated on official or unofficial transcript
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tutorial or workshop completion
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assigned hours of community service
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a defined period of suspension, with or without the attachment of conditions, notated on official or unofficial transcript
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permanent expulsion from the College
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withholding of a degree, or
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any combination of the previously listed sanctions.
February 6th, 2019 at 2:36 PM ^
"a defined period of suspension, with or without the attachment of conditions, notated on official or unofficial transcript"
Sounds like this one.
February 5th, 2019 at 7:34 PM ^
MI Football’s tweet came 10 mins before Evan’s tweet.
The whole thing is very strange.
February 5th, 2019 at 8:51 PM ^
Very sad day. Love Chris Evans. If anyone deserves a 2nd chance it is Chris.
February 5th, 2019 at 9:16 PM ^
Very bummed to hear this. I hope he pulls himself together and gets another chance.
February 5th, 2019 at 10:41 PM ^
Seconded. Things can happen in a young person's life. I hope he can regroup, and overcome whatever obstacles are in his path, so that he can at least earn his degree, and hopefully rejoin his team. Seems like it means something to him.
February 5th, 2019 at 11:03 PM ^
English prof here. There is a program we use at my university called Turnitin that checks student papers against every other student paper that has been submitted through their program, and against everything that's been published on the web. You then get a report on each student's paper that indicates the percentage of the paper that's been lifted. The report also includes hyperlinks for the plagiarized language. It's incredibly useful. Obviously Turnitin can't catch those students who hire people to write their papers for them, unless those people plagiarize themselves, which happens fairly often.
I hate it when students plagiarize because when you catch them they almost always cry, they almost always have a horrible story to justify their misconduct, and they almost always promise the world if you just overlook it this one time. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to hold the line on a plagiarism case from a student athlete at a major school like Michigan. In other words, if Michigan's best returning tailback plagiarized in my class I would have some soul searching to do.
Another thing, though: weirdly enough, students who plagiarize almost always do it again and again. So if you catch a student and then look back through their previously submitted work, it's often plagiarized as well. It's like they develop a taste for it.
February 6th, 2019 at 12:08 AM ^
I tell my students that I'm happy to give them extensions, read drafts, etc., and generally bend over backwards to help them, but that I am totally unrelenting when it comes to plagiarism. It's the one thing that I won't overlook. (I also use Turnitin, much as I dislike it)
February 6th, 2019 at 7:50 AM ^
I was with you until you said, "if Michigan's best returning tailback plagiarized in my class I would have some soul searching to do." The fact that he's a football player should have NOTHING to do with it. That's the basic problem at so many other schools -- that athletes get treated with kid gloves and given breaks that other students would never receive. You should apply the rules objectively and evenhandedly and if that, to you, means searching your soul, then you should search it for EVERY student accused of plagiarism.
February 6th, 2019 at 5:07 PM ^
This is a fair point. I think I'm pretty objective across the board. Our university has specific language that says if a student plagiarizes, s/he should receive an F for the class. After that, it's up to the professor to determine if he wants to punish the student further. If you want to keep at it, you can ultimately make the case that the student should not be allow to continue at the school. I have only done this once, and it was with a Ph.D. candidate who plagiarized on her all three fields of her qualifying exams. After I wrote her a letter of dismissal (I was graduate director at the time), she then filed an academic appeal, which is a long and involved process, and she lost that appeal. She then threatened legal action against me and the university, and after a series of negotiations that I was not part of, it was agreed that she would leave the program voluntarily with no negative mark on her academic record. The case for plagiarism was cut and dried -- it was obvious.
When I said I would have some soul searching to do in the case of a prominent student-athlete, I didn't mean that I might consider letting the plagiarism go unpunished. The athlete's grade would take a hit. I guess I meant to say that (and this would depend on the type and degree of academic dishonesty) I might think long and hard about reporting to the athletic department if it mean that his football career, scholarship, chance at the NFL etc. would be over. Again, if it was blatant, crass, egregious, and willful cheating -- like he paid for a paper from another student -- I think my choice would be easy. But that's rarely the case.
I suppose what I'm trying to say that all students should be punished for academic dishonesty -- athlete or no. But regular students don't typically get kicked out of school for it unless it's at a service academy.
February 6th, 2019 at 12:25 AM ^
Chris Evans is someone I will always root for. Great young man. Says a lot that is owning having some academic issues but intends to continue his career at Michigan. God speed Chris. Thank you for sharing this tweet WD, I find it uplifting to know he is "working through it" even though I am sorry he is going through this struggle.
February 6th, 2019 at 12:29 AM ^
Really appreciate this young man's community involvement and he seemed very well liked and respected by his teammates and the coaches. I hope he's able to work through whatever brought this on, finds his way back on the team and closes out his football career at UofM in strong fashion. Whether or not that happens, I'm rooting for his success in Life most of all.
February 6th, 2019 at 8:08 AM ^
I taught for a number of years in a division 2 school. I wanted to echo the statement by the English Prof in this thread, and provide a personal story.
I taught traditional lecture courses, but used course software for everything, including papers and testing. I also used the option to send everything to turnitin. I usually caught 1-2 students per course section per semester. Most of the time they would beg and/or have a good story. It made it tough to turn them in but I always did.
We are Mich fans and never went to a football game at this college, so I had no idea I had a football player in one of my sections. This was unlike the softball and track programs, where the staff asked for weekly reports on their students.
He cheated, we met in a special area the department had with 3/4 walls near the staff area which we used for tougher meetings. The first I knew he was a player was after I sent in the charge and the coach called me to ask what was going on. He did not ask me to drop the charge, and I didn't.
After the panel found him responsible the student conduct office informed them this was his second conviction, so they banned him from sports activity.
I can't imagine the pressure you would feel in a top 10 Div 1 school, but I felt very little pressure and got very few comments from anyone.
February 7th, 2019 at 5:39 AM ^
Sounds more complicated than just GPA. I don't remember if it is the 2nd or 3rd year, players have to be at a certain level for their degree to remain eligible. So that players can't just take electives and general classes without working towards an actual degree.