By Dar Alon and Mary Levine
Members of the Class of 2014 said they were disappointed to hear that Superintendent David Fleishman had borrowed words and phrases from Gov. Deval Patrick in the speech he gave at June’s South graduation.
The school committee fined Fleishman one week’s salary, about $4,900, earlier this week because of the incident.
Setti Warren, mayor of Newton, supports the school committee’s decision regarding Fleishman’s fine.
“I support the action of the School Committee…leaders in our city should be held accountable for their actions. We are confident that Superintendent Fleishman can lead our school system forward in the coming years,” Warren said.
Jack Lovett, a member of the class of 2014 and this year’s male Senior Cup winner, said that the alleged plagiarism was wrong, but hopes that Fleishman’s message is not overlooked.
“Despite the controversy the message of putting human connection over technology is tremendously important, particularly for our generation,” Lovett said.
Class of 2014 graduates Jordan Cohen-Kaplan and Kylie Walters first reported the incident in the Lion’s Roar after Cohen-Kaplan noticed similarities between a speech given by Patrick at Boston University in May and the graduation speech Fleishman delivered in June at both Newton high schools.
Five sentences were closely related between the two speeches, which included discussing social media’s impact on social interactions.
According to the Boston Globe, Fleishman admits it was “[his] mistake” for not citing Deval Patrick’s speech but did not comment on whether the speech was plagiarized.
Fleishman released a statement in which he claimed that “it is essential that public officials not only accept critical feedback but acknowledge when we have made mistakes” and Fleishman notes that “Because I believe in accountability and transparency, I requested that some type of action be taken by the School Committee and it be made public.”
Stephanie Foster, also a part of the 2014 graduating class, admits to feeling disappointed with Fleishman, but hopes the community will forgive him.
“It’s disappointing, but I hope everyone remembers to move on, too, and not antagonize him forever,” Foster said.
