Would something like this entail an automatic fail or could it still pass?

[Dracon II]

I'm not sure if its ethical discussing someone else's paper on a public forum but here goes anyway.

I'm currently a TA in a course called Government-Business Relations, marking assignments. Now one of the choices the students had was to write a submission to a Special Parliamentary Committee relating to a particular public policy issue. They had to represent a particular business or interest group and make representations and recommendations based on what that business/interest group would likely recommend.

One student wrote a submission on the issue of Housing Affordability (major problem here in Aus), representing a major Australian real estate company. Now, disregarding the rest of the student's submission, do you think including a line like this in a business submission to Government on housing affordability would warrant an automatic fail for the entire paper?

There are many factors that have caused the increase in housing prices. The biggest factor is of course that Australia is a capitalist country, and the goal of most capitalist countries is to basically take every last cent from the public ... So one measure that could be taken is to go back to good old communism, like in Europe but without its Zionist leaders. However I am quite aware that this will never happen

[Wezil]

Yikes! That would go over real well. It's not good to bite the hand that feeds you.

[LordShiva]

Sounds like some people we know here.

[DinoDoc]

Fail him for being terminally stupid.

[Japher]

Slander and incrimination... ban him!!!!!!!!!!1

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by LordShiva
Sounds like some people we know here.

[GePap]

Not if the bulk of the paper is well writen and well argued.

hard to believe the paper would be including that paragraph, but that paragraph alone would not be enough.

So why not limit your ethical mistakes to just one?

[SlowwHand]

[snoopy369]

I would say that merits a letter grade drop in and of itself, but not an automatic fail (unless it's a graduate level class). A lot of college students are moronic idealists and need to have that bashed out of their heads, but failing him for being an idealist means you could fail a third of most colleges students...

[Q Classic]

Make sure you let the student know that not only were the Zionists in charge of the Communist Bloc, but there are 7 who are also in charge of the world's entire money supply.

Also, attach a picture of fantastic housing provided by Communist governments, in the form of the Ryugyong Hotel.

[DRoseDARs]

So long as you don't provide any personally identifying information on the student or the college this is from, it's fine to discuss the paper. As for the paper, I don't know if an automatic failure is appropriate. If this were in the US, this wingnut would probably sue you if you did for "violating his/her religious freedoms / free speech" or whatever. Take him/her aside, with the teacher present as well, and give him or her the opportunity to clarify or rewrite that and similar sections as they are clearly inappropriate for the type of course he/she's taking. If this were a real-world situation, the government would reject the paper out of hand and the real estate company would probably be less than thrilled with his/her services.

[Kuciwalker]

togglecaps: forgetting freedom of speech or whatever, it is just terrible writing. That alone is enough to axe the whole paragraph.

[DRoseDARs]

I'd err on the side of not getting sued for wholly rejecting this nonsense out of hand. Give the moron a chance to prove he/she's not a COMPLETE tool.

[Kuciwalker]

Dude, he's more likely to get run over by a car than be sued for failing a paper, even if he does it for blatantly political reasons.

[DRoseDARs]

Never underestimate a wingnut's propensity to sue for no good reason. Hell, if you don't like that angle, then look at it from this one: Giving him/her the opportunity to explain themselves may prove to be highly amusing. It might be worth it just for the entertainment value.