Interveners
The office area on the second floor of the psychology department was exceptionally quiet in the afternoon. Occasionally, the sound of keyboard clicks could be heard between the partitions, and someone's takeout bag would be gently bumped by the wind, the rustling of plastic amplified in the silence.
Panqiu was sitting in her seat, having just finished an email, and before she could even stretch, Daniel appeared at the door of her cubicle.
"can we talk?"
His tone was very casual, even carrying a hint of "look, I came of my own accord."
Pan Qiu was slightly surprised. He hadn't replied to her emails, nor had he appeared during last week's office hours, but instead showed up at this unannounced time. She nodded, stepped aside to let him in, tidied her desk, closed her laptop, and sat up straight to face him.
"Thank you for coming."
Her tone remained gentle, but her voice carried a clear edge: "I'd like to talk to you about the assignment for the PSY 610 course."
She unfolded the prepared document, marked the overlapping paragraphs of the two assignments, and said calmly:
"Your assignment is highly similar to another student's submission, which goes beyond mere coincidence. According to the college's regulations, this level of overlap constitutes an academic integrity issue."
She paused slightly, looking into his eyes: "I'd like to hear your opinion first."
Daniel pursed his lips, shrugged, and leaned back in his chair.
"Honestly, I think you're overthinking it. I didn't copy it word for word. At this level, everyone consults each other."
Pan Qiu's tone remained restrained: "I'm not here to argue with you about wording. As a teaching assistant, I need to hear both sides' perspectives and try to be as fair as possible. At the same time, I also need to maintain the fairness of the course—it should be the same for all students."
She slowed her speech: "If it's just a misunderstanding, we can clear it up face to face. But I need you to give a clear explanation: why are your two assignments so similar?"
Daniel didn't answer directly, but his eyes clearly showed impatience. He smiled, a hint of provocation in his expression:
"Look, no offense—but do you even know how these policies work I mean, you're… a TA. And English isn't even your first language, right"
("No offense intended—but are you sure you really understand how these policies are implemented? You're... just a teaching assistant. And English isn't your native language, right?")
Pan Qiu looked at him quietly, her tone becoming even more steady:
“I am fully aware of the policy process and my responsibilities within it. I am giving you the opportunity to explain and clarify.”
Daniel shrugged. "Opportunity? I don't think I need any opportunity. I wrote my own thing. If you insist on calling it 'similar,' then I could say she borrowed my ideas. How can you prove she didn't read mine?"
He leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice: "By the way, are you even allowed to make these calls? Or do we need to talk to someone… senior?"
("By the way, do you really have the authority to 'judge' this kind of thing? Or should we talk to someone more 'senior'?")
In that instant, Panqiu felt as if something had gently struck her heart. It wasn't because she was flustered, but because she heard it very clearly—the sentence contained not only denial, but also a contemptuous probing of the "international student teaching assistant": Who are you? Who do you think you are? Do you understand the rules? Are you even qualified?
She nodded: "I will submit the complete materials to the instructor and the department. Of course, you can communicate with more senior teachers, which is also part of the process. But before that, please send me a written version of your explanation. I will submit it together."
Daniel's lips curled into a rather unfriendly smile: "Sure. I'll write something. Just make sure it doesn't get… lost in translation."
("Okay, I'll write something. Just remember not to lose the meaning in the translation.")
Someone next door heard the noise and peeked out. Daniel stood up, the chair leg scraping against the carpet with a "clunk." He glanced at Pan Qiu, then casually tossed out, "You'll hear from me," before turning and walking away.
The air fell silent again.
Pan Qiu sat there, her palms slightly sweaty. It wasn't fear, but a chill that followed being treated with disrespect. That chill stemmed from a familiar logic:
First deny the facts, then question who you are;
—Then shift the topic from "right or wrong" to "are you qualified to say right or wrong?"
She took a deep breath and wrote down each line of the conversation, attaching it to the comparison screenshots.
She knew perfectly well that this had gone beyond the scope of "teaching assistants mediating privately"; she also knew that she didn't need to prove her qualifications by talking about "who is more senior" or "who is more local." The process itself was her qualification.
She got up and went to the third floor to find Ethan. The door was locked. She stood there for a while, then decided to go back to her seat and write an email. Written, documented, and focused on the facts.
She sat down, her emotions now at their calmest, and began to write:
Subject: Report on Academic Integrity Issues Regarding Assignments for the Course "PSY 610"
Professor Ellery, hello:
I would like to report to you a suspected case of academic misconduct in the most recent assignment of PSY 610.
I compared the two assignments (Emily Cooper and Daniel Myers) paragraph by paragraph and found that the paragraph structure, argumentation path, and core expressions of the intervention strategies were highly similar. I have saved the original manuscripts, submission time records, and annotation screenshots.
I contacted both students separately to explain the situation. Emily stated in the meeting that she sent her assignment to Daniel the night before the deadline, explaining that "he was stuck and wanted to refer to the structure." Daniel did not provide a clear explanation for the similarity, denied plagiarism, and stated that he would respond in writing.
Given the nature of this matter and the discrepancies in the accounts presented by both parties, I recommend initiating a formal review in accordance with the college's procedures. Please provide instructions on the next steps. All materials have been compiled and are available for your review at any time.
Thanks.
Qiu
She looked at the "send" button, paused for two seconds, and then clicked it.
After sending the email, she didn't feel relieved; instead, she felt a strange weight being steadily caught by her.
She wasn't there to "punish anyone"; she simply wanted to uphold a basic order: effort should be acknowledged, and rules are for fairness.
She knew that such a stance wasn't always "popular".
But rather than being questioned about whether she was worthy or not, she was more unwilling to pretend she didn't see it.
She filed the documents and turned off the screen. Outside the window, the wind rustled through the treetops, and leaves fell softly.
She suddenly realized that from the moment she pressed "send," she was no longer just a gentle teaching assistant.
She was the one who formalized the issue.
And she is prepared to bear the consequences.
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