Ok, so it need not be Digg, but really, all of the online social communities need to rally behind this poor guy, Chris Avenir, who is at a local Toronto university. The poor guy is facing expulsion and has already gotten a B grade turned into a failing grade in a first year chemistry course. Why? Because he administers a local Facebook group on some homework topics. Flabbergasted? I was. Turns out that said Toronto university, Ryerson, has a very liberal academic misconduct policy, which describes such as “any deliberate activity to gain academic advantage, including actions that have a negative effect on the integrity of the learning environment.”

Obviously, as Michael Geist says, sharing answers or plagiarizing is an obvious academic offence. But virtual study groups?

Come on!

So, let’s review the major criteria for creating a movement to help a brother out on Digg.

• Dude is a geek* … check!
• Involves web 2.0 / social media / Linux / Gaming / Apple / technology / Facebook … check!
• Dude is wrongfully targeted because he is a geek and is using one of the above … check!
• Dude facing tragic / legal / funny / sad consequences of his actions … check!

Mr. Avenir clearly meets all of the major criteria to get some tech support / love (but not all minor criteria, which might also include, but is not limited to, posting for your favourite Democratic nominee, sending up some hilarious pictures referencing your 733tness / geek cred, and composing a top 10 list of Terribly Obvious Things).

Seriously — this issue needs to explode across the blogosphere, and folks like Corey Doctorow (of BoingBoing) — who is also a local Torontonian — need to step in, particularly if the worst does happen ( he gets expelled?!). The story, as its been reported, is an absolute anachronistic disaster, and I think Ryerson needs to step up and explain how things have gotten as far as it has, and reassure the city, its students, and the world at large (if their reputation means much), that it isn’t out of step with Progress and how important these new Teh Internets are.

Update: The Facebook group that Chris Avenir was a part of may have had a description that suggested that people were merely copying answers, and this was the thrust behind all of the drama above.  I think that it raises the larger issue of how legitimate it is to having “homework” or “assignments” to be done which “count”, and whose answers are easily copied, in this day and age.  As I wrote over at Mat Ingram’s blog, all this does is drive those seeking to trade in answers in the social “underground”, or via private online groups, and you’ll never find them.  Answers to old tests and exams are a part of university life, and academia has to rise to the challenge of this reality in 2008.  Hammering students into apparent submission, because they’re using existing tools to propagate a very old practice hardly seems fair, insightful, or forward-looking 

* not yet indepedently verified
** photo courtesy of SuperProm