Preston Mitchum just graduated from North Carolina Central University's law school. He had the honor of giving a speech at graduation. Instead of writing his own speech, Preston decided to plagiarize the one above, that he found on YouTube.

Now, Preston Mitchum is surely not the first graduation speaker to plagiarize his speech. What makes him special is that he thought that doing so would be just fine.

Mitchum copied the speech, delivering parts of it word for word at Friday's ceremony for graduate and professional students at NCCU. In an interview Monday, he said he meant to credit [the speech's author, Binghamton University's Anthony] Corvino in the speech. He didn't...

"I just don't want this to have an effect on my career," said Mitchum.

Corvino even tells the local paper that Michum asked his permission to use his speech, as if it would be fine to use someone else's law school graduation speech word for word, as long as you get their permission.

Preston Mitchum, we have no doubt, will be in politics sooner or later.

[News-Observer via Inside Higher Ed]