John Merrill

As many great journalists know, plagiarism is a big no. Many would think that one of the oldest professors in journalism at the University of Missouri would know better. This is why a controversy was been sparked regarding John Merrill, a great journalist whose work has been published throughout the country. This past November, Merrill turned an objective article written by a student, into a column full of his own ideas about women's and gender studies. Yet, what raised the plagiarism flag was the fact that he used every quote from the article and did not give the original writer credit for the source of the quotes.
I personally believe that Merrill did not plagiarize. He used quotes; a quote has to be exactly the same because it is what the person said. I also feel it was inappropriate for a student to a attack an established professor, I feel that she over stepped her boundaries by making such a big deal out of the article. I feel bad for Miller that he was fired and that his name will be branded forever as being a person who plagiarizes instead of just being remembered as a great professor and journalist.