The Ridgewood Maroon Vol. 3… No. 100
Wednesday, December 20, 2023
“Bringing us all to a place we don't want to lose."
Observer: The AI Discussions We Need To Have
Macky’s New York: Picturing Saint Patrick
William Peay: Tales From The Wood…
RHS Athletic Hall Of Fame: Made For & Inspired By RHS Alumni
Project Arrow: Creating An Online Home For RHS Arrow Yearbooks
M + A NYC: Mighty Are We As One
Our Classmates: 50th Reunion RHS 1974
James Stroker: Hope Coach
Jim Schoneman: Rock Hound
Kathy & Ross Petras: You’re Saying It Wrong
Letters: Plagiarism & AI
Observer
The AI Discussions We Need To Have
Pleased as we are by all e-mail from our readers, this past issue v3-98 “Plagiarism & AI” produced a most bountiful sampling of opinions. We re-printed with permission two of these missives at the end of this issue. We hope this becomes a regular feature in 2024.
The subject is Plagiariam & AI.
Can we begin by holding open & regularly scheduled discussion forums? Let’s have students, teachers, parents, alumni & administrators of the Ridgewood Public Schools (RPS) talk about AI in-person and online.
(If there ever was a time to consult with technically-inclined alumni, this is it!)
Also include online questions for Ridgewood families about which tools people use at home. We’ll then be able to see how a blanket restriction on AI tools is impacting students, and how the prohibition ultimately violates the Civil Rights of Special Needs students.
Macky’s New York
Matthew Cortellesi Photography
December 6, 2023 - Nolita
Picturing Saint Patrick
After a visit to the Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral for some prayer and perhaps some much needed "devine" intervention...I step out and notice a woman also looking for some inspiration only she is using the "app".
Shot in a puddle on Mott street just north of Prince looking west with old wall and bust of Archbishop John Hughes.
Time 915am.
William Peay
Tales From The Wood…
My birthplace...
At 6 a.m. on April 14, 2024, plastic sheets will be draped over the signs directing people to The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood and its emergency room will close after 73 years in service.
RHS Athletic Hall Of Fame
Made For & Inspired By RHS Alumni
Visit the RHS Athletic Hall of Fame
Digital Printing for the RHS Hall of Fame provided by Tim Boucher, RHS 1988
Project Arrow
Creating An Online Home For RHS Arrow Yearbooks
A collaborative effort by Ridgewood High School and the Ridgewood Public Library. The Arrow Yearbooks from 1898 through the 1940s are now online.
Digital archiving by Michael Culver, RHS 2002, and his firm 1Row.com
M + A NYC
Mighty Are We As One
M + A is a Lifestyle brand known for handcrafted, ethically made, modern home decor and wearable accessories. Artisanal | Small Batch | Designed in NY
Shop home décor and wearable accessories at www.mplusanyc.com
Our Classmates
RHS Class Of 1974 Reunion
We are planning our 50th Reunion for September 21, 2024 at the Woman's Club of Ridgewood. If you might conceivably want to attend, please email us at RHS1974Reunion50@gmail.com so we can send you an invitation. We also are planning other events for the weekend that will be detailed in the invitation.
James Stroker
Hope Coach
Jim Schoneman
Rock Hound
This year it was my job to pick out the tree, cut it, pay for it, bring it home, and then put it in the stand so it’s nice and straight. Found this little Frasier Fir. It’s short, but very well proportioned, and it fits nicely in her special corner of the room. Now Jenni takes over with the ornaments and lights, then I’ll finish up by putting the angel on top. Only one more week and the grand kids will arrive and walk into the living room to see their decorated and lighted up Christmas tree with presents underneath.
Kathy & Ross Petras
You’re Saying It Wrong
Ross & Kathy’s podcast: You're Saying It Wrong is a podcast that looks at what we get wrong—and what we sometimes get right—when it comes to this English language.
Letters
Responses to Issue 98, Plagiarism & AI
I disagree with your editorial regarding plagiarism & AI and the Ridgewood School Board's stance on the code of conduct regarding it. I can certainly understand and validate your viewpoint as you are like many people, who have spent most of their entire adult working life within the digital world and welcome AI as just appropriate inevitable evolution. And it could very well be so. In comparison, I'm sure I might be considered by many as a knuckle dragging, flat-Earther troglodyte. (By the way, I just used spell-check for "troglodyte").
Plagiarism has always been lurking in the background of all levels of academia since the written word. It's always been there and will continue to be so. Just look at the recent example of the "elite" president of one time "elite" Harvard. Your point of view hinges on the concept that the student will choose not to plagiarize using AI but to simply use it as a tool. I feel in many instances, that would not be the case.
Many other factors have also always been constant. First and foremost is the individual student and their moral view of how to achieve their desired academic, economic and social goals. "To thine own self be true". - did I just plagiarize Shakespeare? or does punctuation cover me?
Other important factors always present are home and societal pressure and how the individual chooses to deal and react to such. It's no secret that today's school children find themselves in an environment we never had (circa 1977) which creates considerably more pressure for them to choose to follow the best direction of their "moral compass." In today's society it's no wonder many people have lost their ability to distinguish true north much less the directions on the compass.
I believe there are many students especially at "elite" RHS who will wrongly use AI to plagiarize up to the point they "think" they can get away with it. Equating students using spell check-(the way we used a dictionary or Roget's Thesaurus) is not quite a germane comparison.
And as you believe, there will be students who will use it "properly" to help in formulating their own point of view, to create their own sentences, to build their own theories and to answer questions using their own minds. I still have hope your prediction will hold true.
I believe the Ridgewood School Board and the RHS Code of Conduct is correct in taking a breather to control and observe the effects of academic use AI now. As you mentioned, to assess and act responsibly, such regulations can be re-visited at any time for further interpretation and subsequent implementation.
It will all come down to how it's always been: how the individual student reacts. Do they want to actually learn? Or do they select the easy way to achieve their goals, perhaps to even be accepted at Harvard, UPenn or MIT.
Dave Rorty, RHS 1977
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The issue of using AI for research is, to me, similar to a professor using grad students to do research on an hypothesis.
Or using a computer to winnow through data. Or using a program to fit a formula to a data set.
The key is the question. Creating the the hypotheses.
The downside of using AI is not unlike the downside of using grad students, sometimes they're lazy, or incompetent, or just make stuff up to please the recipient and to go home early.
Bob Rahm, RHS 1977