Against Cheating In Gender-al

(I am giving an exam to my Math 105 students. I have over 60 students in this class, and many students don’t attend class regularly, so I don’t know everybody’s faces, but I do know the names of the students on my class list.)

Male Student: *hands in exam with the name “M. [Last Name]” on it, and tries to leave quickly*

Me: *stopping him* “Excuse me, I happen to know that the “M” in “M. [Last Name]” stands for “Megan,” and you don’t look like a Megan.”

Male Student: “Um… it’s pronounced “Mee-gan?”

Me: “Uh-huh. Do you have your ID with you?”

Male Student: “No, I’m afraid I don’t…”

(“Mee-gan” then runs out of the room as soon as I look away to accept another student’s exam. I later checked the student directory, and Megan [Last Name] was listed as female, and her photo looked nothing like the male student. I gave her a 0 on the exam, and reported her to the student conduct board. She dropped the class shortly afterward. A lesson to would-be cheaters: if you’re going to get someone else to take an exam for you, at least have them be the right gender.)