Table of Contents

• The Responsible Plagiarist—Understanding Students Who Misuse Sources
  • By Abigail Lipson and Sheila M. Reindl
  • Even students who are taking care not to plagiarize can misuse sources. The problem, argue the authors, isn't dishonesty or even carelessness, but students' understanding of what it means to participate in a community of scholars.
• Our Incoming Students—What Are They Like?
  • By Linda J. Sax
  • For thirty‐seven years the Cooperative Institutional Research Program has, among other things, conducted an annual survey of the students entering our colleges and universities. What do recent surveys tell us about the newest students?
• Studying How College Affects Students—A Personal History of the CIRP
  • By Alexander W. Astin
  • “Why in the world would anyone ever undertake such a project?” asks the author. He answers this and more in his autobiographical account of th origins and development of one of higher education's longest‐running research efforts.

• DEPARTMENTS
• Letters—How Many Latinos and Non‐Latino Whites Are There in the United States?
  • Gary Malaney clarifies; we respond.
• Word for Word—The Age of White Guilt and the Disappearance of the Black Individual
  • By Shelby Steele
  • In a recent article in Harper's magazine, the author of the book The Content of Our Character continues his examination of being black in today's world. Here is some of what he has to say.
• Campus Commons—Class Ring
  • By Scott C. Brown
  • All traditions had to get their start somewhere. But why this one? Why now?
• What They're Reading—Another Look at “Making the Most of College”
  • By Deborah J. Taub
  • For people who work with students, Richard J. Light's book may not be full of surprises, but, says our reviewer, there are many other good reasons to read it.