Being Accused of Cheating

I had a horrible experience at the end of the first term. There was a Statistics Exam, and we weren't allowed to use calculators. I can see why; the calculators we usually use have the formulas in them, and some of them let you just input the data and do the calculation for you without ever your needing to know anything about how it works.

But I didn't realize the rule also applied to other kinds of calculator which didn't have these functions in them. At the end of the exam, the assistant came round to collect the papers, and saw my calculator on the desk. It was in full view of everyone, a bright red children's calculator with big keys, a big display, and funny smiles all over it. But the TA brought it to the Prof's attention, and he came to my desk and called me down big time.

He accused me of cheating. Actually, I hadn't used the calculator because the exam didn't have any questions that needed it. He knew that, of course, but it meant nothing to him. He just lost it. I said, "Sir, I didn't use the calculator, and I'm one of your best students; I had 96% going into the exam -- look it up." That made it worse. He kind of said that that made him think I'd got the 96% by cheating as well, and that I would probably get 0% in the exam or even the whole course; he'd have to ask the Dean. It was wholly scary; the guy was just yelling right into my face.

Anyway, in the end, it turned out OK. He must have calmed down afterwards, or perhaps the Dean talked sense into him. Nobody ever said anything, but when my mark came out, it was as I'd originally expected, and not reduced by any cheating penalty. It was the worst experience I've had in my few months here, though, by a long way.