How can I get my friend to stop cheating?

• Author: Klosterman, Chuck
• Position: THE ETHICIST - Brief article

My good friend cheats on every test and hasn't been caught. We're in a tough class, and half the students are failing. Our teacher grades on a curve, and my friend is ruining everyone else's chances because of his high grades. I would never tell on him. What should I do?

Josh, New Jersey

IT'S ENTIRELY POSSIBLE that your friend has simply never considered the larger meaning of his actions--and the effects they have on his peers--in an adult way.

Since you've already decided not to report him, your first move should be to tell him what's really happening here, in the same way you've explained it to me. If this doesn't affect him, try something along the lines of, "If you continue to do this, my opinion of you will never be the same." (Just say it with words that are less dramatic and self-righteous than mine.)

If...