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A UNC Football Player Copied A Homework Blog Post On Poultry Farming From 11-Year-Olds

Oh, UNC. You had the whole sanctions-worthy-of-a-postseason-ban thing, followed it up with the Julius-Peppers’-grades-were-illegitimate thing, and some other stuff sprinkled in between, on top and on bottom. You are a scandal sandwich. A saucy scandal sandwich with a slimy scandal soup on the side. Washed down with a San Scandellino.

On Sunday, we find out that receiver Erik Highsmith — on his required blog for a communications class — copied one of his two entries from a ThinkQuest post written by four 11-year olds. The other, from a test-prep site. Four 11-year olds, that’s like, better than two 20-year old college kids! Screw you, fellow classmates, I’ve found an INNOVATIVE CHEATING LOOPHOLE! Preschoolers’ minds will replace Sparknotes!

Here was Highsmith’s post, for a class in Spring 2011:

Poultry farming is raising of turkeys, ducks, chicken and other fowl for meat or eggs. Poultry farms can be breeding farms where they raise poultry for meat, or layer farms where they produce eggs. The ‘best’ breeds depend on what you want from them. Good egg layers are Rhode Island Reds [brown eggs] and Leghorns [white eggs].

Here’s the 11-year olds’ post. By four of them!

Poultry farming is raising chickens, turkeys, ducks and other fowl for meat or eggs. Poultry farms can be: 1. Breeding farms where they raise poultry for meat, or 2. Layer farms where they produce eggs.
The ‘best’ breeds depend on what you want from them. Good egg layers are Rhode Island Reds [brown eggs] and Leghorns [white eggs].

I can’t believe they caught him! I mean, he got rid of the colon and the numbering! Even if they caught him, that type of syntax-adapting merits him a Pulitzer. Outrageous.

There’s other stuff, regarding other players, in the News & Observer’s report, if you are so inclined to read it. The newspaper has been doggedly covering all of UNC’s misdoings.

I’m not here to rip on Highsmith, dumb as he may be. The academic problems at UNC are pathetic, and this is just embarrassing.

And in Highsmith’s defense, HE AIN’T COME TO PLAY NO POULTRY BLOGGIN’!

[News & Observer; image via]

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