Nate Kushner was sitting around one night when he started to get IMs from a college student who was looking to commission a term-paper on Hinduism that was due in the morning. She'd seen something about Hinduism in Nate's AIM profile and so she offered him $75 to write the paper. He wrote a silly little paper, strung her along, pranked her, and then published the whole thing along with her real name on his blog:
Laura K. Pahl: lets talk about it then
Nate Kushner: As long as you understand that plagiarism is not going to free you from the painful cycle of death and rebirth any quicker.
Laura K. Pahl: ok
Laura K. Pahl: so can u help me
Nate Kushner: I think I can. It is my duty, as we are all children in the arms of Chivas.
(via Waxy)
Update: It's an April Fool's Day hoax. Shannon sez, "the student doesn't exist, that school is a Christian school (that doesn't teach a course on Hinduism), and it's hosted on a comedy troupe's site that's trying to promote it's new show, and their webmaster is spamming blogs with their story under a variety of fake names."
Update 2: The people who posted this deny that it's a hoax, deny the spamming. You decide.
Update 3: Peter sez, "For what it's worth, Lewis University does, in fact, offer a course dealing with Hinduism:
"19-298 Christianity and World Religions (3)
This course compares the teachings of Christianity with the teachings and practices of selected non-Christian religions, possibly including Native-American religious traditions, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. The aims of the course are to clarify similarities and differences between Christianity and other religions, to reflect on the problem posed by religious pluralism in modern culture, and to develop a Christian theology of world religions."
Update 3: Henry sez, "A story in Inside Higher Ed (online competitor to the Chronicle of Higher Education) about the Hindu plagiarism controversy. I'm guessing from the university's non-denial that the story is probably legit."
