Dear Chancellor,
as graduate students we are following the current discussion about the plagiarism allegations against the Federal Minister for Defence, Mr Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, with great shock and even greater lack of understanding. We have the impression that you are using all their power to hold a minister who, despite massive evidence to the contrary still gets the statement maintained that he had not deliberately misled in his doctoral thesis.
damage with this procedure, the Federal Government and the deputies of the coalition not only themselves, but much more.
Zu Guttenberg had already been in the last week to take apart several times previously protested his statements regarding his dissertation. The Internet community has made it in an unprecedented way to demonstrate a variety of unique plagiarism in the dissertation of Mr. Guttenberg. This evidence can be viewed by anyone and verifiable. It is hardly surprising that plagiarism experts agree that one can no longer speak of some "embarrassing mistakes." It is massive, systematic deception. Guttenberg has a large part of his dissertation - and apparently with great ambitions - and copied it and sources covered up, designed to obtain a doctorate, which he then promoted, not least at election posters. The University of Bayreuth was not able to dispel this charge. Given the size and number of plagiarism you know as well as we can at the end of that scrutiny by the University are only a result in terms of deception intention of the Minister. You can not do this "unconscious". designate
to this deception as such, it has nothing to do with the affiliation of the minister to a particular party. Even the politicians of the opposition we would demand the resignation as a minister, they had given their word of honor, their created independently and scientific achievement, even with using the specified resource, and then failed in spite of massive way against it.
zu Guttenberg on 23 February 2011 in the current session of the German Bundestag noted that he would be judged as defense minister only after his work. He has played it on a formulation by you that you would not employ him as a "research assistant".
This is a mockery of all the scientific support staff and all graduate students who are trying in an honest way to do their part to scientific progress. It lays about also suggests that it is the fraudulent acquisition of a Ph.D. is a minor offense all, and that the "academic honor" is irrelevant in real life.
In compliance with the rules of good scientific practice, it is not "footnotes", not for trinkets, which are negligible in the face of larger political problems. It's about the basics of our work and trustworthiness. We therefore strive in our own work to the best knowledge to meet these high standards at all times. If we do not, we run the (rightly) risk of being expelled from the university.
teach most of us In addition, younger students. Often it is our job to teach them the basics of scientific work. We keep the students here at this from the beginning to respect very careful to quote correctly and every resource to make marked as such. We do this not because we "footnote fanatics", or sit in the "ivory tower" and not know what counts in real life. It's simply about us, the understanding to share, so that scientific and social progress is possible only if one can rely on the honesty in the scientific community. Offend our students against this code, we are required to assess their examination performance as inadequate. If repeated violation threatens usually be de-registered. After such a decision is the likelihood that the parties concerned deal in many professions denied - even in occupations where the personal integrity may be less important than in the office of Federal Minister for Defence.
Maybe we are old fashioned and outdated represented conservative values, if we entertain the view that honesty and responsibility should be values \u200b\u200bthat should apply outside of science. Mr. Guttenberg seemed, until recently, that opinion to be.
research makes an important contribution development of society. Honest and innovative science is a foundation of prosperity in our country. If the protection of ideas in our society no more important value, then we lose our future. We expect no gratitude for our scientific work, but at least the respect that our work seriously. The treatment of the Causa Guttenberg as a minor offense suffering of science in Germany and the credibility of Germany as the "Land of Ideas".
but you may keep our contribution to society as simply negligible. Then we ask, however, will no longer be proclaimed by the by you speak to the Education Republic of Germany ".
Sincerely
The undersigned signatory and *
