Zero tolerance on plagiarism

Michael Homan comments on the excalating problems he has faced with plagiarism among students and recommends a zero tolerance policy. We have had the same struggles here and I would like to think that we are steadily winning the battle, though I sometimes wonder if it is simply the case that the offenders are just getting better at getting away with it. Michael comments:

What will I do when the tears start flowing and I have to hear sob stories about growing up in poverty, and how due to poor public education they had no idea what constituted plagiarism, and that they can't let poor grandma, who is weeks away from death, fail to see them graduate? I had better stock up on kleenex.

I've been there!