The Crimson Cartoon: Look Really Close, Maybe You Can Spot the Similarity
The Crimson has just posted a story on Kathleen Breeden '09, the Kaavyariffic, Jaysontastic, Glasstacular staffer who has boldly pushed the frontier of plagiarism to cartooning. An Oct. 25 piece bears a "noticeable similarity" to an Oct. 12 panel by Pulitzer winner Walt Handelsman in Newsday, the Crimson notes.
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
Yeah, "noticeable" is the word we would have used, too. There are three more ripoffs, the piece says -- but no mention of whether Breeden will be fired. It's understandable. Their hands are pretty full right now. (Breeden hasn't responded to our request for comment.)
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October 30th, 2006 at 1:01 am
The story was uploaded on thecrimson.com before you mentioned it in your blog.
October 30th, 2006 at 1:09 am
First Opal Mehta, then the “Literally” article, and now this copied cartoon…what type of plagiarism will Harvard produce next?
October 30th, 2006 at 3:51 am
Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t one of the authors of this blog preside over a similar incident of a plagiarized cartoon at the Columbia Spectator? In what way did the cartoonist push the frontier?
October 30th, 2006 at 9:09 am
If you looked back, you would probably find 40 other cartoons with a similar theme published in the U.S. Cartoonists ripping each other off is commonplace and widely accepted in the U.S. If you don’t believe me go searching. Cartoons are based on pop culture themes and they all pretty much drink the same water from the same well. As far as the Crimson goes, well, they haven’t been very good this year. The quality of the reporting is down, they don’t seem to have the spirit and the drive of past years, in short the paper isn’t very good.
October 30th, 2006 at 1:13 pm
I was an editorial cartoonist once for a college paper that’s not the Crimson (yup, everyone is impressed everywhere I go) and I’m going to defend this girl. Editorial cartoons are almost never funny, in college or otherwise. Maybe you can make the arguement that she ripped off the Newsday cartoon if it was funny, but it’s not, and even a lazy cartoonist can think up their own unfunny punchline. The likelihood of these two cartoons coming up with the same punchline is the same as the likliehood of two not very revolutionary pundits making the same observation about the Democratic platform. I’ve heard dozens of people say the same thing. The real crime here is that both cartoons suck and no one should get fired for that because no one ever does.
October 30th, 2006 at 1:49 pm
Is it really a ripoff? Seriously? I mean, the cartoon is making a pretty freaking obvious statement.
October 30th, 2006 at 6:04 pm
Harvard Prof. Alan Dershowitz and two others were caught red-handed plagiarizing and the school just covers it up. The students are just following the example set by the teachers and administration.
October 30th, 2006 at 6:34 pm
I’ve seen AT LEAST TWO cartoons featuring a guy on the psychiatrist’s couch.
October 30th, 2006 at 8:05 pm
It’s amazing that anyone would attempt to justify this outrageous and clear-cut example of plagiarism. Schools should not accept cheating, especially universities and especially Harvard. This student should at least be fired and be considered for expulsion. This is completely unacceptable behavior for scholars. And, this brings into doubt whether she has performed any of the work which got her to this point.
October 30th, 2006 at 8:39 pm
To me, even more reprehensible than the plagiarism is the complete absence of artistic talent. Back to doodling on the back of a notebook, please.
October 30th, 2006 at 9:00 pm
Michael Witzel of Harvard University plagiarized a biblical theory called the Aryan Migration Theory from some 19th century chap called Max Muller. Now he has been confronted with evidence that it is a biblical theory based on the story of Noah’s Ark and The Tower of Babel. Harvard refuses to sack him.
October 30th, 2006 at 9:27 pm
The real scandal though is that Alan “Mr. Torture” Dershowitz has been caught red-handed plagiarizing a very bad book by Joan Peters in his own very bad book, The Case for Israel. How could the Crimson discipline this poor misguided girl when her teacher makes a six figure salary and has a named chair in the Law school?
October 30th, 2006 at 10:10 pm
Be careful what you say Brian or the Orenthal James Professor of Law might have you sent off to some secret torture prison (to prevent terrorism of course!), or maybe he’ll direct the air force to bomb your home town in revenge, as he advocated Israel should.
October 30th, 2006 at 10:41 pm
What book by Joan Peters did Alan Dershowitz plagiarize? Was it “From Time Immemorial?” What poor taste.
October 31st, 2006 at 12:34 am
This is really a non-issue to me. Take a look at http://www.cagle.com/
That’s cartoonist Daryl Cagle’s site, where he compiles assorted political cartoons from all around the nation. Peruse any particular topic and you’ll deduce that most cartoonists either have a direct telepathic link to each other or they’re blatantly plagiarizing each other’s work every day.
Frankly, I’m not terribly concerned about cartoonist plagiarism, and it looks like they aren’t too concerned with it either. It’s the Glass’ and the Blairs I’m worried about.
October 31st, 2006 at 9:16 am
can’t you do better harvard?
October 31st, 2006 at 9:27 am
This specific platform has been discussed by talking heads for years. Perhaps the new cartoon should have had Mr. Bush standing on the “Right”.
October 31st, 2006 at 11:22 am
Again?! Every woman accepted to Harvard should have to sign a no-plagiarism oath.
November 1st, 2006 at 9:49 pm
Agreed. And every world-level athlete who applies to Yale with a letter of recommendation from the Dalai Lama should be examined closely as well.