Commencement season brings plagiarism scandals

Relax, rhetoricians.

We have our annual plagiarism scandal.

It seems the dean at University of Albertaโ€™s medical school filched parts of another physicianโ€™s speech for a convocation address. A โ€œlapse in judgment,โ€ said Dr. Philip Baker, according to Torontoโ€™s Globe and Mail. โ€œWhen I was researching for the speech, I came across text which inspired me and resonated with my experiences โ€ฆ.โ€

This is so familiar, itโ€™s possible the apology itself is plagiarized.

Why does this sort of thing happen so often, and why are commencement speeches so often the mother of plagiarism?

Hereโ€™s why: Flattered by the invitation to deliver a commencement speech, the speaker accepts. But that was November, this is now. The speech is in two weeks and the speaker hasnโ€™t had one thought pop into his or her head that seemed worth sharing.

Thereโ€™s the grinding feeling that everything that could be said at a graduation ceremony has been said.

Followed immediately by the tempting thought: Maybe I could just say some of that stuff.

And the rhetorical question: Who would know?

To borrow, adapt (and attribute) a line from freelance speechwriter Matthew Cossolotto, โ€œDoctor, spiel thyself!โ€

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