With its proctors, webcams and strict backwards-hat policy, few locations on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s campus are as secure as the Burnett Hall Testing Center. But despite the strong anti-cheating policies, students’ eyes couldn’t help but wander to one computer screen at the testing center Friday.
“I was just trying to mind my own business and take my psych test, but this girl next to me was obviously taking a BuzzFeed quiz,” reported sophomore engineering major Brian Stanton. “All those bright colors and animated GIFs – there’s no way that was boring old Blackboard.”
Other nearby students expressed confusion, annoyance and even anger, such as senior accounting major Cara Knight.
“I had to wait 30 minutes for her to finish this stupid quiz – it was something about pizza,” complained Knight, who was waiting to take her History of Rock test. “There are plenty of computer labs on campus with full access to BuzzFeed.com, so I really don’t get why she felt the extra security of the testing center was necessary.”
To get to the bottom of this important story, The DailyER tracked down the student for an exclusive interview.
“I was just sitting in my dorm, browsing Facebook, when I saw a link to a ‘Which Pizza Topping Are You’ quiz,” said freshman undeclared student Alaina Davis. “But when I clicked it, they told me I needed a proctor’s password, and that I should report to the nearest testing center.”
“It seemed a bit excessive, but I just had to know which pizza topping I was,” she added.
When asked to comment about this use of testing resources, Burnett Testing Center director Anna Parsons was quick to defend Davis’ actions.
“As the premier testing center on campus, we are committed to providing a secure environment for all test-takers, no matter what the subject is,” Parsons said. “If Ms. Davis had been assigned an incorrect pizza topping due to some outside influence, that’s a mistake she’d have to live with for the rest of her life.”
Due to its policy on confidentiality, the testing center refused to release the identity of the topping to The DailyER, but a source close to Davis reported it was sausage.
