TikTok user Erika Schafrick (@erikaschafrickk) was on the verge of tears as she recounted how her professor gave her a zero on a six-page essay she submitted.
In a video that amassed 1.9 million views within 24 hours, Schafrick admitted the paper “wasn’t that good” but that she only needed a 17% or 18% on it to pass the Philosophy course. She said she assumed the zero was a mistake her professor made. “I sent him my submission receipt, and he was like, ‘No, it’s not a mistake. Here’s your feedback,’” the 22-year-old recalled.
She said he told her in the feedback that she misrepresented what the text said. “It can be interpreted so many different ways,” she said, defending her paper. “Like sorry I didn’t fucking cheat and use ChatGPT just like everyone else in the fucking course probably did who passed. I actually tried to do it myself and use my own ideas.”
According to the Daily Mail, experts estimate that 50% of all college students use ChatGPT to cheat, and that percentage is only expected to go up. AI tools can write projects and then make the AI undetectable by rewording it, according to an expert who spoke with the Daily Mail.
@erikaschafrickk ♬ original sound – Erika Schafrick
The Daily Dot reached out to Schafrick via TikTok comment and direct message.
Viewers in the comments section argued that simply turning the paper in should have earned her a higher grade than a zero and urged Schafrick to appeal it.
“Simply handing it in should have been enough to get marks. I would honestly complain to the department head,” one of the top commenters said.
“SINCE WHEN CAN THINGS ONLY BE INTERPRETED ONE WAY?? ESPECIALLY IN PHILOSOPHY???” another questioned.
In a follow-up, Schafrick shared that her paper was on the book “Existence and Existent” by French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas. According to Google Books, the preface states the book examines “the problem of the Good, time, and the relationship with the other [person] as a movement toward the Good.”
“It doesn’t make any fucking sense,” Schafrick said of the book.
The essay prompt is featured in the follow-up. “In a nutshell, this is a very broad thing that he’s asking us to do. He’s asking us to say what we think [Levinas] is saying and then critique it or say that it’s right,” she said.
“So for him to go and say that everything I said was wrong is just so beyond me,” she said, adding the students were not allowed to consult outside sources.
“So, basically, you read the book, you say what you think it’s saying, and argue either for or against it. How could it be wrong?” she reiterated and concluded in the video.
