Plagiarism is widely known as the moral antithesis to academic integrity. It’s never considered acceptable or justifiable under any circumstances, and students are always expected to put forth their own original creations. Professors are stalwarts when it comes to plagiarism; many have “zero-tolerance” policies and openly voice their disdain for cheating.

It’s highly hypocritical, then, when a professor commits this unacceptable act.

According to MSNBC, a Columbia University professor will remain on staff, despite being sanctioned for plagiarism.

The university’s Teachers College announced Wednesday it had imposed “serious sanctions” against professor Madonna Constantine. The college said a lengthy investigation uncovered numerous instances in which she used others’ work without attribution in papers she published in academic journals the past five years, MSNBC reported.

This repugnant act is deeply ironic. Students are given a tremendous amount of pressure to never plagiarize the work of another person. This same logic should also be applied to all individuals, including professors. Instructors have no credibility in their work if they cheat, just as students wouldn’t have credibility.

It’s a blatant double standard.

Unfortunately, plagiarism runs rampant among both high school and college campuses. The temptation to take the easy way out has proven extremely powerful for many students. There are numerous cases of students losing academic standing and credibility because they’re caught cheating. Again, it’s hard to imagine a situation where cheating would be considered acceptable.

Cheating is never ethical, and the distinction between students and teachers is unimportant when it comes to academic integrity. Punishment for all cheaters should be blind. Professors shouldn’t be given second considerations and special treatment for the same lapse in judgment that could ruin a student’s academic career.

Some individuals voiced their opposition to Constantine’s “punishment.” According to the article, a noose was found outside Constantine’s office following the accusations of plagiarism.

The professor’s lawyer said she had been targeted because of her race, and suggested that the two incidents were linked. A Columbia spokesperson denied a tie between the two events.

The inquiry of Constantine, who is black, was launched in 2006, well before the noose — a symbol of lynching in the Deep South — was discovered this past October, according to the article. As for Constantine, she will remain a tenured professor.

The article also said that Constantine asserts that she can prove her innocence and that the entire situation is racially motivated.

Constantine said she had been subjected to “a conspiracy and witch hunt by certain current and former members of the Teachers College community.”

If the sanctions actually motivated members of the Teachers College to commit a hate crime, then it’s a revolting shame. It’s shocking that members of the academic community would exude a blatant disregard for human decency through a racially motivated act.

However, it does serve a powerful allegory that these same members of the academic community retain their strong disdain for plagiarism. It’s just a shame that this disdain had to be expressed in the form of a noose.

Clearly, Constantine’s race had nothing to do with her lapse in character and judgment.

[Reach columnist Chris Heide at opinion@thedaily.washington.edu.]