OP-ED: So We're All Still Cheating On Exams, Right?

We’ve been doing remote learning for some time now. In some ways, it feels like the only life we’ve ever truly known. A year ago, when taking all your assessments on Canvas was shiny and new, we were all cheating our asses off. I just want to make sure that we’re all still on the same page that we’re cheating on every exam, right?

There’s no reason to feel bad if absolutely everyone does it. If we all cheat exactly the same amount, then the international relations theory of relative gain suggests something that I could quickly look up if asked about on an exam. By that logic, we might as well not cheat at all, but the game theory example of the prisoner’s dilemma would point out something that I could also quickly look up if asked about on an exam.

Look, either the professors expect it from us and are tailoring the exams specifically to account for cheating, or I’m getting lazier and stupider, because my exams definitely seem like they’re getting harder. I am left with no other conclusion than that I need to cheat more, and I want to know that we’re all cheating, or else I might feel a little bad about behavior that I don’t intend to change.