Student Blog: Have You Read This?

I attended an IB (International Baccalaureate) elementary school growing up, at which I learned about the IB Learner Profile and Attitudes. One of the primary attitudes was integrity: “...doing the right thing when nobody is watching.” My understanding of integrity was shaped from a young age and has evolved to cover many aspects of my life. I like to consider myself a bit of an academic weapon, so integrity as it pertains to my academics has always been important to me. In my opinion, “academic integrity” describes one’s proclivity towards submiting work that is of their own creation and taking accountability for the product of their efforts, for better or for worse. 

As I’ve embarked on a new academic journey as a BFA Acting for Stage & Screen major, my understanding of this concept of “academic integrity” has evolved. As a theatre student, there aren’t a ton of traditional assessments to take or study guides to fill out, and as such, taking accountability for your academics looks different than just not cheating on a calculus test. However, while these traditional academic practices aren’t super prevalent for theatre majors, we still have a lot of work to keep up with and an artistic standard to maintain. I learned early on (as did a lot of my classmates after getting chewed out by one of our professors), that the effort we put in during rehearsals and by working on our class projects on our own time replaces traditional academic efforts. Additionally, due to the subjective nature of a lot of our assignments, it’s important for theatre students to take the time to do their work and engage with material on an independent basis instead of relying on others for answers. In this way, my understanding of “academic integrity” has grown to encompass taking ownership of the work I’m doing and forming an independent opinion to contribute with as opposed to waiting for others to help me. 

Looking at “academic integrity” from a slightly more traditional perspective, there’s also a lot to be said for putting in work even when it’s less-than-glamorous. An example of this that I’ve encountered was during my class on script analysis. For anyone that’s ever done so, I hardly need to explain that the process of breaking down a script is tedious to say the least, and for students analyzing their third script of the week, it’s extremely tempting to turn to resources such as ChatGPT to lighten the load. However, not only does using tools such as AI deprive students of experience that builds good habits in them as artists, at times using these tools can oppose their mission as artists. By using AI as a shortcut for schoolwork, theatre students bolster technology which serves to replace human-driven industries like the one they aim to be a part of. The “integrity” part of “academic integrity” goes far beyond just schoolwork and begs the question of students what values they exercise in their personal lives and as it pertains to their independent work, as well as what they seek to gain from their academic pursuits.