The author sounds like a major "Karen." Just because policies say you have to report something doesn't mean you can't pretend to have never saw anything in the first place. That would have been the correct move here seeing as this is academia and the stakes are so low.
I hate this take on cheating. Not taking cheating seriously cause stakes are low , and the person is only cheating "themselves", is a bad take. Because not only does it undermine the overall value of your degree/course, but it actually is highly discouraging for the ones who do not cheat. Since not cheating become a major disadvantage.
A good system shouldn't reward bad behavior and punish good behavior.
This attitude does a lot to explain the quality of pedagogy to me. Why waste everyone's time and money with the course if students won't engage with the material? Plagiarism (or outright fabrication) in academia is a serious problem and can bubble up into things like the "modern" anti-vaxxer movement.
If it's low stakes all the more embarrassing to the students for risking their personal and professional reputation so trivially
