Running into the building late, sweat drips down a furrowed brow. A blank worksheet is clutched in a fisted hand. Eyes search the halls for a familiar face. By the lockers you see your best cheating friend. Frantically, an exchange takes place and relief is felt. The worksheet is complete and a zero is evaded for another day.

Cheating – it’s something everyone does, and many feel stems from laziness among the student body. Cheating is a craze many kids have grown up with. Maybe it’s just copying a homework assignment, but cheating is cheating no matter what.

So why do students cheat? Is it the thrill, the lack of motivation, the “I don’t care” attitude, or the pressure from parents and teachers? According to students it could be a mixture of all these factors.

“Students cheat because they are lazy,” freshman Kelly Koenigsman said. “They say they don’t have time but they probably do.”

So kids are lazy. This isn’t a surprise to anyone and some kids feel that getting away without having to work hard can be a kind of satisfaction.

“People love getting away without doing any actual work,” senior Michael Moeder said.

Could the pressure from teachers to do well in everything be the undelaying factor for this cheating epidemic?

“Kids cheat because teachers pressure us to do well on tests,” sophomore Derek Drees said. “If we fail, then we feel like we’ve failed them.”

Most students agreed that when it came to cheating, pressure and too much work comes into play. When asked:  “Do you think students cheat or copy because they have too much work to accomplish at night or are too busy with other activities,” a staggering 83 percent of students surveyed answered yes.

Despite this number some students still felt laziness was the key.

“Sometimes students don’t have enough time to finish work, but mostly it’s because they are just lazy,” freshman Regan Kaiser said.

There are many situations in a school setting where the opportunity to cheat might arise. Some students feel that in some situations it’s okay or acceptable to copy, or cheat off of others.

“I think it’s okay if you can’t find an answer to ask a friend, if you have actually tried to find it,” junior Katelyn Hecker said.

Kaiser agreed with Hecker.

“It’s okay if only it’s not a lot and it’s only a few questions,” Kaiser said.

So it’s clear that students don’t exactly feel that cheating is a big deal, and many feel that every ones doing it, so that makes it okay.

“Basically, the entire class cheats in Mrs. Haynes class on quizzes,” one freshman said.

Some seniors shared stories of times when they have cheated throughout their high school careers.

“I cheated in Mr. Leikam’s class,” Korey Pfannenstiel said. “I wrote the answers on my desk so I wouldn’t fail.”

Pfannenstiel isn’t the only student who admitted to cheating.

“I think I’ve pretty much cheated on at least on answer on every test I’ve ever taken,” Moeder said.

So what do students consider cheating? When surveyed most students felt that copying a whole worksheet or in a situation where a test is involved, it’s considered cheating.

On the other hand, 79 percent students surveyed felt that asking a friend for a few answers wasn’t cheating.

So what is an acceptable punishment for all of this cheating going on? Students had mixed feelings when it came to this subject.

Some students felt that being caught cheating deserved a harsh punishment.

“If you get caught, you should get a zero,” Koenigsman said.

While other students saw a different approach to what the punishment should be.

“They should have to do 20 push-ups,” sophomore Justus Jungnickel said. “That’s what my math teacher did.”

No matter what the punishment is, or what it might be changed to because of all the cheating going on, one thing is clear: kids are cheating, and a large number of them too.

But what it all boils down to is what exactly students believe cheating is, and why exactly it’s acceptable. Even though they cheat some students still have a conscious.

“If a teacher would catch you, you’d feel really bad,” freshman Regan Kaiser said.