Difference between revisions of "2013 NAQT Cheating Scandal"

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==Andy Watkins==
 
==Andy Watkins==
 
It was revealed in March 2013 that [[Andy Watkins]] had cheated at the [[2009 ICT|2009]], [[2010 ICT|2010]], and [[2011 ICT|2011]] ICTs. The cheating was discovered during an NAQT inspection of computer logs in the wake of similar cheating by [[Joshua Alman]], and the earlier cheating incident with [[Shantanu Jha]].  
 
It was revealed in March 2013 that [[Andy Watkins]] had cheated at the [[2009 ICT|2009]], [[2010 ICT|2010]], and [[2011 ICT|2011]] ICTs. The cheating was discovered during an NAQT inspection of computer logs in the wake of similar cheating by [[Joshua Alman]], and the earlier cheating incident with [[Shantanu Jha]].  
 
==Other Cheaters==
 
In addition to Alman and Watkins, [[Joe Brosch]] and [[Scot Putzig]] were also discovered to have cheated at [[2010 HSNCT]] and [[2011 ICT]] respectively. Their wins were vacated and they were subsequently banned from future NAQT events.
 
  
 
===Title Changes===
 
===Title Changes===
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*[http://www.hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=14257 Initial NAQT announcement]
 
*[http://www.hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=14257 Initial NAQT announcement]
 
*[http://www.hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=14271 Discussion of media coverage]
 
*[http://www.hsquizbowl.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=14271 Discussion of media coverage]
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==Other Cheaters==
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In addition to Alman and Watkins, [[Joe Brosch]] and [[Scot Putzig]] were also discovered to have cheated at [[2010 HSNCT]] and [[2011 ICT]] respectively. Their wins were vacated and they were subsequently banned from future NAQT events.
  
 
[[Category:Journalism about quizbowl]]
 
[[Category:Journalism about quizbowl]]

Revision as of 03:07, 6 July 2014

The 2013 NAQT Cheating Scandal, dubbed Watkins-gate after its chief instigator Andy Watkins, was a scandal in which several members of the quizbowl community were discovered to have accessed questions for NAQT tournaments before they happened. In all cases, the accusees worked in some capacity for NAQT.


Andy Watkins

It was revealed in March 2013 that Andy Watkins had cheated at the 2009, 2010, and 2011 ICTs. The cheating was discovered during an NAQT inspection of computer logs in the wake of similar cheating by Joshua Alman, and the earlier cheating incident with Shantanu Jha.

Title Changes

Media Coverage

Unfortunately, the cheating incident was uncovered just a month after 125 Harvard students had been caught cheating on a take home test in an introductory government class, and happened to coincide with Harvard's upset victory over New Mexico in the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament. The first report came from Insider Higher Education, followed closely by the Manhattan based blog Gawker, and then approximately twenty other newspapers and media outlets.

  • "Veritossed" - the initial Insider Higher Ed article [1]
  • "Epicenter of Evil"-the Gawker article [2]
  • Harvard Crimson-feturing commentary (albeit very little) from Stephen Liu [3]
  • Minneapolis Star-Tribune-featuring commentary from Andrew Hart and Mike Cheyne [4]

Links

Other Cheaters

In addition to Alman and Watkins, Joe Brosch and Scot Putzig were also discovered to have cheated at 2010 HSNCT and 2011 ICT respectively. Their wins were vacated and they were subsequently banned from future NAQT events.