WKRN, Nashville, Tennessee News, Weather, and Sports |Pledge condemns cheaters to Hell, MTSU students asked to sign

Pledge condemns cheaters to Hell, MTSU students asked to sign

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Frustrated over cheating allegations, one professor at Middle Tennessee State University took the idea of a traditional honor code in a controversial direction.

Suspecting that one of his MBA candidates had just cheated on an exam, Professor Thomas Tang had each of them sign a pledge that said if they had cheated, they'd be condemned to an eternity in Hell.

The pledge went on to say if the student cheated they will "be sorry for the rest of [their] life and go to Hell."

"He issued this pledge and asked them to sign it," explained Tom Tozer, Director of News and Public Affairs at the university.  "Certainly some students had called the department chair and complained that they were asked to sign this [honor code] they found it offensive."

Professor Tang admits, he may have overreacted but says he was particularly because the course had previously covered the chapter on ethics.

About the pledge he said, "I may have overreacted to some extent, so I feel sorry about that.  The main point is I'm trying to raise standards."

Tang said he based his pledge on an academic study showing students who read the Ten Commandments before an exam were less likely to cheat.

As for the last part, about going to Hell, Tang said he would probably leave that out in the future.