CREDIT: FSU PUBLICATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT
From June 6 to 8, the Fanshawe Student Union (FSU) hosted the Donut Cheat event across Fanshawe's London campuses.

From June 6 to 8, the Fanshawe Student Union (FSU) hosted the Donut Cheat event across Fanshawe’s London campuses. According to FSU Advocacy and Communications Coordinator Sarah Acuña, the event was focused on showing and teaching academic integrity to the students in a subtle and fun way.

“We exceeded the expectations because we ran out of resources to hand out to students so fast,” Acuña said. “Between all the campuses, we reached about 1,000 students.”

She said that they were not only giving donuts to students, but that they also gave away stress balls.


“Stress balls are there for students who have some kind of allergy to the donuts or do not like them. So if they participate in a booth, they can win something no matter what,” Acuña said.

Acuña stated that this event is always done along with the library and the Academic Integrity Office, along with the Office of Ombuds because those departments are always involved in the appeal process.

“My role is to guide students, and I can advocate for students. The library provides workshops for students to join, and the Academic Integrity Office works together with the office of the registrar in case of an appeal or an academic offence,” Acuña said. “We just try to facilitate all the tools that students have available but with a reward.”

She stated that getting a penalty can genuinely impact the record and future of a student.

“It is OK to use AI and other resources to help with assignments, but they need to know how to use it without abuse and asking their teachers. We have resources to track and see when a student has abused AI or plagiarism,” Acuña said. “They need to set boundaries and know when it is not appropriate to use AI. We are here to let them know that and to show them the different ways that can cite and use others’ information as a source without plagiarizing it.”

Acuña said that students should know the complete scenario of what they are dealing with because, in the end, they will be more calmed knowing what is permitted and what is not. She added that there are also resources they can use and learn from on the FSU website.

“You go to the FSU website, then you go to services and click the academic integrity tab, and you are there,” Acuña said. “You would find all you need about citations, including different citation formats.”

She said every student’s reputation, career, credibility and future are safe because they would have the knowledge and the tools they need to succeed.

“You cannot avoid a mistake if you do not know what the mistake is,” Acuña said.