You Must Have The Time Code Written On Your Butt, Like Fry From “Futurama”!

When my husband was in college, he had to write some sort of Java program. One of his classmates asked if he could copy my husband’s work. 

Husband: “Sure. Just change it a bit so they don’t see it as a direct copy.”

Of course, that student shared it with his friends, and soon, the entire class had copied my husband’s homework, changing it all slightly. The teacher didn’t notice it. Everyone passed. 

Two years later, my husband was called to that same teacher’s office. He spotted a boy in the same room, looking nervous. 

Teacher: “Thank you for joining us. Could you please explain this?”

The teacher showed him two Java programs… and they were identical. It was my husband’s coursework. 

Teacher: “[Husband], I’m very disappointed in you. How could you plagiarize [Boy]’s work?”

Husband: “Eh… what?”

Teacher: “[Boy] told me he wrote this program. I expected better of you. Again: why did you plagiarize [Boy]’s work?”

Husband: “I… I wrote this two years ago.” *Turns to the boy* “Which class are you in?”

Boy: “Eh… Class 1.”

This was his first year at the college; he was a freshman.

Husband: “[Teacher], are you saying I copied his work two years before he—”

Teacher: “[Husband], plagiarism is taken very seriously here. But I am willing to let you redeem yourself. Either you two write down a new code, right here, right now, or this will be passed on to the plagiarism commission.”

[Husband] was baffled; did this teacher not understand how plagiarism and the passing of time worked? Dumbfounded, he accepted the challenge to write a new code on the spot. Since he was in his third year, this was easy for him. 

He did notice [Boy] struggling. Halfway through the challenge, the teacher was called away, and my husband could finally ask how the boy had gotten the code. It turned out that he had gotten it from his sister, who was a second-year. She had gotten it from a friend, who was a third-year: [Husband]’s classmate. It turned out that the code was shared among many students, but this boy made one mistake: he didn’t change anything in the code, so it showed up in the plagiarism software. 

However, the fact that my husband was accused of plagiarism and not this kid pissed him off. He lost all respect for the teacher and slightly angled his screen toward the boy. 

Husband: “Don’t forget to change some of the code this time.”

When the teacher returned, he didn’t notice anything; the boy changed enough code this time and both were cleared of plagiarism. The teacher did promise to double-check my husband’s code from now on. Yes, he was still convinced my husband was the one who copied from someone two years his junior, two years before the boy enrolled. 

Unfortunately, my husband didn’t keep in touch with anyone from that college, but he sometimes wonders if that assignment still exists and if his code is still passed around. Considering it was about fifteen years ago, I doubt it, but we still joke about how my husband is a time traveler.