So this has been eating at me and I need outside perspective. Earlier this semester I caught a classmate cheating. I went back and forth on it for a while but eventually decided to report it to the academic integrity office. I felt like it was the right thing to do, especially for everyone who was putting in honest work. What I didn't know at the time was that he apparently already had two prior misconduct incidents on his record. So when this third one came up, the school suspended him. Obviously, he can return back in 1 year. He was an international student and had to leave the country entirely.
I didn't know about his history when I reported. I just saw what I saw and reported it. But knowing how it all played out, I can't stop thinking about whether I made the right call. A suspension for an American student is bad enough. For him it potentially meant his entire life here unraveling.