Mark Solis at risk of getting booted from UP master's program

Mark Joseph Solis, a graduate student at the University of the Philippines, is now in peril of getting kicked out of his master's degree program at the University of the Philippines' National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG).

 

This is in the wake of the discovery by a special fact-finding committee that Solis submitted stolen photos to seven different photography contests in the last two years.

 

According to the report created by the special committee formed by the UP NCPAG, Solis "joined a number of competitions and submitted entries that did not belong to him even when the contest rules clearly stated that entries must be original, must not violate laws or infringe on the rights of others."

 

The fact-finding committee said Solis entered his submission to the "Smiles for the World" photo contest to two other competitions. These were the Mulat Maninipat Photojournalism contest of the union of Journalists of the Philippines-UP (UJP-UP) and the photo contest organized by the Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration (EROPA).

 

All in all, Solis submitted photos lifted from Flickr accounts of various photographers to seven different competitions.

These included: 

 

- Smiles for the World: 2nd Calidad Humana Photo Essay Competition (2013)

- Water and Life digital photo contest sponsored by the International Center for Integrated      Mountain Development (2013)

- Mulat Manipat Photojournalism contest by the UJP-UP (2012)

- EROPA-sponsored photo contest (2012)

- Papworth Trust 2nd Photography Competition (2011)

- Say Peace! Online Photo Contest (2011)

- VinylPlus Sustainable Thinking Platform Photo Contest (2010-2011)

 

While the committee recommended Solis' case to be elevated to higher university authorities given the extent of his plagiarism, it said that NCPAG officials need to decide soon whether or not he can still enroll as a student for the next semester.

 

"The NCPAG will have to decide on the status of Mr. Solis – whether or not he is still eligible to continue with his graduate studies at the NCPAG and be allowed to register in the future," it said. 

 

UP formed the special committee in September after news broke out that Solis had lifted his award-winning entry to the "Smiles for the World" photo contest organized by the Chilean embassy from the Flickr account of Brazil-based photographer John Gregory Smith.

 

The 22-year-old student has since admitted to plagiarizing Smith's photo and has apologized to him and the Chilean embassy since the incident was publicized. The Chilean embassy has stripped him of his prizes and chose another winner for the competition.

 

Smith, meanwhile, said he has forgiven Solis after seeing the latter's mother make a tearful public apology on television.

 

End of academic career

 

In an interview with GMA News Online on Friday, NCPAG dean Maria Fe Mendoza said college officials will decide on Solis' fate as a graduate student in the coming weeks while the university is on semestral break. 

 

She said Solis told her during their meeting on October 4 that he felt the incident spelled the end to his academic career.

 

"Ang sabi nya sa akin, 'Ma'am, I think my academic career is over.' Parang wala na siyang intention na ituloy pa yung studies niya dito," she said.

 

Mendoza said the fact-finding committee resolved  to let UP Diliman chancellor Caesar Saloma decide whether or not Solis' case should be heard by the university's Student Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) because the college was "not competent" enough to handle the matter on its own.

 

In her letter to Saloma, Mendoza said: "[The report] enumerates resolution of some issues related to student conduct and discipline which at this point, the College may not be in the best position to resolve alone...It is in this light that I am elevating the matter to your level for your more competent resolution."

 

According to the report, disciplinary action may be imposed on Solis based on two provisions in the current university code of student conduct.

 

The provision states that students "shall at all times observe the laws of the land and the rules and regulations of the university" and that "any form of misconduct" may be subject to disciplinary action.

 

Mendoza clarified that the NCPAG special committee did not investigate if Solis also plagiarized his requirements as an undergraduate student at the university since he obtained his bachelor's degree from another college. 

 

"Nag-graduate siya ng Political Science from CSSP (College of Social Science and Philosophy) so hindi namin [jurisdiction] 'yon," she said.

 

Plagiarism of academic requirements is a grave offense under university rules and is punishable by expulsion or the stripping of one’s degree.

 

"Face the issue"

 

The dean said she noticed Solis looked thinner and "more remorseful" during their conversation earlier this month.

 

Mendoza said she advised the student to face the sanctions that may be imposed on him by the university instead of just escaping to the province, which she said he was considering.

 

"Sinabi ko na wag muna siyang pumunta sa probinsya dahil kailangan pa niyang harapin yung issue dito sa university. If ever may case na ipa-file against him, I told him to face the issue. Mukhang naintindihan naman niya because he saw it as a way of redeeming himself and showing the world that he is owning up to his mistakes," she said.

 

In his apology letter to Mendoza – a copy of which was attached to the report – Solis said plagiarizing other people's photos for competitions was "a grave moral lapse" on his part that he regretted committing.

 

"While I may not have foreseen this crippling chapter in my life, I am now able to see what went wrong. The recent turn of events have taught me to become humble, more honest, to be sensitive to the works of others, to work hard for whatever it is I want to achieve in life and more importantly, to take responsibility for my actions," he said.

 

Solis said in the letter that he has learned from the incident and is now owning up "to every single mistake" he had committed.

 

"I can't undo what I have done, but you have my sincerest pledge that I learned from this incident, albeit in the most difficult way. I am now owning up to every single mistake that I have and started reaching out to individuals and institutions that I have hurt," he said.

 

Mendoza said Solis has not read the contents of the 16-page report, which detailed information on him as a person, student, employee and applicant to various photo competitions. She said he will be given a copy of it should a case be filed against him before the SDT. – KDM, GMA News