To Whom It May Concern: My name is Catherine E. Thomas, and I am a student with the University of Maryland University College distance education online. On May 1, 2002, my classmate wrote an article on the Red Light Camera ruling from an article written by Valerie Alvord a reporter for USA Today. My classmate copied the article verbatim and I located the article that Valerie Alvord written from yahoo. I have provided the written article in which she copied verbatim and I have also provided the link that I found from yahoo below. I am writing seeking contact with the reporter of this article because I have suffered great retaliation as a result of my finding when I reported this to my instructor who is an attorney for ATF. Needless to say, that I have received a final letter grade of “F”. I was doing very well with my studies and have maintained an excellent grade point average prior to my discovery. The University of Maryland University College have not done anything to protect me first as a victim and second as a student. This same individual has paraphrased my work online and this is how my troubles begin. I have notified the President of UMUC to make him aware and he refused to even interview the instructor. I have also recently contacted the Director of ATF- Bradley A. Buckles on July 15, 2002, because she used her employment email address to harass and threaten to fail me before the final exam. At approximately 1:25 a.m., this morning I reviewed my grade report on ISIS with UMUC and I received a final letter grade of “F”. Prior to and during the course of my reporting my findings of plagiarism I have always submitted my class work on time to include extra credit assignments and received good grades. After the discovery of the article I was being threaten, harassed, and antagonized because I discovered something that the attorney did not after 10 weeks of school. The individual has been plagiarizing class assignments from the earlier weeks of school yet the attorney/ instructor never realized that certain issues were not common knowledge in her written assignments. I can only assume that I insulted the instructor when I questioned her lack of ability to decipher and detect academic dishonesty. Please read my classmate written response and I have also included the link from the article that Valerie Alvord written on “Calif. judge says ‘stop’ red light cameras”. Re: Week 4 assignmentAuthor: Katia C Rucker Created: Wednesday, 5/01/2002 9:35 AM

——————————————————————————–

Katia RuckerRed Light CameraDevils-Advocate Response

In my opinion the red light camera issue would not work for negotiated rulemaking. Hundreds of thousands of motorists receive traffic tickets each year based on pictures taken by red light cameras that operate in about 60 cities and counties across the USA. The pictures have been proven to be unreliable and can’t be trusted because the cameras can malfunction. The ruling by San Diego Superior Court Judge Ronald Styn was the first of its kind in the nation. The ruling only applies to about 300 motorists fighting their tickets. The judge threw out the tickets, sayingevidence provided by the cameras was “so untrustworthy and unreliable that it should not be admitted.” Styn said, the San Diego program is flawed because it allows the private company that installs and operates the red light cameras to collect a portion of the $271 fine for each ticket issued. The company’s cut was about $70 of each ticket. The judge ruled that a conflict of interest arises because it is also the company that decides whether a motorist could be ticketed. That violates a state law that does not allow such law enforcement programs to be operated by private companies.Red light cameras have become a means to monitor traffic at dangerous intersections, which is being misused by police and are a threat to personal privacy. Cameras have been installed at high-volume intersections where yellow lights were short, making it difficult for motorists to stop before the light turned red. Putting cameras at locations with light volume and inadequate yellow time is not related to safety. Because of the red light camera the number of rear-end collisions have increased in some intersections equipped with the cameras. Clearly, a community must have good traffic safety data to determine which intersections pose the highest risks for both violations as well as crashes, but this data may not be accurate.Although people are routinely photographed at automated teller machines, in elevators, office buildings and convenience stores those camera systems are not used to look up your identity, but cameras mounted at red lights do. The cameras undermine the personal privacy of motorists and may violate rights guaranteed by the Constitution. The red light camera doesn’t give you the right to face your accuser and you’re presumed guilty.—————————————————————————————————————————- This is the article KatiaC.Rucker used and copied verbatim from USA Today “Calif. judge says ‘stop’ to red light cameras” written by Valerie Alvord.(http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001-09-05-judge-nixes-red-light-cams.htm). The University of Maryland University College has not interviewed the instructor and sent me a letter stating they have completed an investigation. I have significant, sufficient, and substanial evidence against UMUC and have proved that I have maintained contact with administrative officials the entire time regarding the acts of Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism. Please see the information below. If you have any questions please contact me. Thank you for your patience’s and time. Catherine E. Thomas