It’s 7:50 a.m. on Monday morning. Suddenly you hear it. It’s your alarm.

You’re beyond tired, you’re exhausted. But that’s what happens when you sleep five hours in two days – damn all that Mountain Dew.

You had decided to cut back on sleep to study this weekend. But you never opened the books as your roommate challenged you to a vicious Guitar Hero marathon battle.

Now your heart is pounding as you run down a slippery sidewalk.

You get to your final at DuSable right at 8 a.m. The teaching assistant hands out the test and you look at the first page. Then skip to the second, the third, until you get to the final page.

That’s when it hits you – you know nothing on the test.

As your eyes wander around, thinking of what to do, you see the student next to you. Her answer sheet is hanging off the desk. You can clearly see that question four is bubbled A, and question five is B. Heck, you can see the entire scantron. It’s time to pass this class.

Stop.

Before you cheat, think about what you’re about to do.

First, you’re hurting yourself. Sure you may “pass” the class, but what have you really gained?

Your transcript will show you are competent in the subject. However, you will know that’s a lie, and have to hope that no one else, including your future employer, will find that out.

You also run the risk of being caught by your professor. If this happens, the best-case scenario is an ‘F’ in the course. The worst-case: You may be suspended or dismissed from the university.

If those reasons haven’t sold you yet not to cheat, think about this:

How do you know the person next to you has the right answers? For all you know, they could be in the same boat you are.

Some parents pay thousands of dollars each year so that their child can attend NIU.

When a student cheats, that person is not learning and is therefore completely missing the point of attending college.

Furthermore, some classes build on each other and cheating will catch up to a student sooner or later.

When cheating, you’re only cheating yourself.