Authored by Jennifer Kabbany via The College Fix,
A Brown University professor says he will no longer allow students to take exams at home after he caught a large chunk of his class cheating on a test.
Economics Professor Roberto Serrano said he allowed students to take a midterm at home, and 40 students, nearly half the class, earned a perfect 100; among the 86 students in the class, the average overall class score was 96, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported July 6.
“I immediately knew that something was fishy. In previous editions of the course, the average grade in the midterm ranged from 65 to 80,” the Ivy League professor said.
He said further review seemed to confirm his suspicions, so he told the class:
“I’m not going to declare it void for now. I’m going to give the class a chance to prove me wrong. If the distribution of grades in the final exam looks roughly similar to the distribution of grades on the midterm, then I’ll count the midterm. If not, I will declare the midterm null and void. Also, the final will be in person.”
Serrano told the Chronicle that, unfortunately, his fears were confirmed.
“Between the midterm in March and the final in May, there was a consistent flow of students dropping the class — many of them had scored 100 on the midterm,” he said.
“Of the 59 students that took the final, 19 of them failed, so they also failed the course. Quite a few showed up, signed the exam, and turned it in blank. The average grade for this final was by far the lowest in the history of this course.”
Underscoring the cheating scandal, Serrano is blind, and has had to overcome numerous hurdles as a student and an academic.
Asked what he thinks of students taking the easy route, Serrano said they’re only selling themselves short.
“A culture of effort and hard work should be inherent to learning. I worry many of our students now have the wrong idea, believing that the answer to any question can be obtained with a couple of clicks of the mouse,” he told the Chronicle.
“I tell them that years from now, their grades won’t matter. What will matter is how much they learned and how much stayed in their brain.”
Tyler Durden Wed, 07/08/2026 - 15:20Following the largest daily surge in Arabica coffee futures since the Dot-Com bubble, the head of Italian coffee giant Lavazza Group warned that prices are unlikely to fall over the next two years.
Giuseppe Lavazza, chairman of the Italian roaster, was quoted by Bloomberg as saying, "The market needs to have stability before it's time to think about a reduction of prices."
Lavazza explained that it will take two harvests and a massive rebuilding phase to replenish inventories and ease supply constraints, making lower prices unlikely over the next two years.
On Monday, Arabica futures in New York posted their biggest jump in 26 years, as worsening weather in Brazil and shrinking exchange-managed stockpiles fueled a rally. The violent move higher was not just weather-driven. A big short squeeze also materialized.
That sent 60-day volatility to the highest since 2014 levels - a period where weather-driven supply shock in Brazil dented global supplies.
Making matters worse is the El Niño weather phenomenon that will start emerging in the months ahead and will create adverse weather conditions not just for top-grower Brazil but for other agri belts around the world.
"I think we are living in a long-lasting period of instability and uncertainty," Lavazza warned, adding, "Instability is the new constant."
Lavazza noted, "We need a couple of very strong crops from Brazil and Vietnam to rebuild stability. So maybe the first good crop is arriving," but we don't yet have evidence it will be as good as was expected at the end of 2025.
He added: "The coffee market now shows fundamental changes compared to the past. We are living in an environment we don't know very well."
The takeaway for coffee lovers is simple: stock up.
Tyler Durden Wed, 07/08/2026 - 14:45