Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional, so it is imperative to know what plagiarism is, how to prevent it and why you should.

Questions related to the topic will be answered at the “Plagiarism Forum,” Sept., 28 from 6 to 8 p.m. in Memorial Union’s Washburn Room.

Plagiarism is an act of dishonesty that can be easily prevented. Malone University’s President Gary W. Streit was caught using material that he had not written and was questioned when people began to notice striking similarities between Streit’s material and information that had previously been posted online. According to The Daily Mail, Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny allegedly ripped off one of President Obama’s speeches, claiming that it was a tribute to the President after he was caught. According to Plagiarism.org, 36 percent of undergraduate college students admit to knowingly copying work that wasn’t their own. Plagiarism comes in many forms so it is very important that students are able to identify and prevent it.

“The topic of plagiarism needs to be discussed,” said Maria Stover, speaker for the forum and associate professor of mass media at Washburn. “The more visible it is the less of a problem it becomes. Awareness is important and empowering. Everybody makes mistakes and nobody is perfect so it happens.”

The idea is to help prevent it.

“The Washburn Review is involved in giving back to the community every day and we wanted to be able to give back more,” said Robert Burkett, editor-in-chief of the Washburn Review.  “This event is made to be an informative way to give back. Everybody makes mistakes and even we make mistakes.”

The event will have a number of presenters who are there to help students better understand what plagiarism is and provide resources to arm them with knowledge to help them be successful through their career at Washburn and throughout the course of their lives. Also, different areas of plagiarism will be covered and how it applies to various majors. Any questions that may be a concern can be asked at this event, and prizes are also involved.

“Most acts of plagiarism are usually lack of knowledge, however ignorance is not an excuse,” said Stover.