Should Students Receive Harsh Punished for Cheating

Many think that students who cheat in class should not receive a second chance. At Sequoia  High School a student was kicked out of his class for cheating. Many were outraged. "And in an informal online reader poll by this newspaper, 84 percent of about 300 respondents said students should not get a second chance when caught cheating"(Noguchi 4/26/12). The school received lots of backlash for their actions despite many people agreeing that kids should only get one chance. The setuation at Sequoia High School is a perfect example of people in favor for a harsh punishment for students who cheat in class.
Cheating in a class is very unethical. But there is a very controversial topic about rightful punishment for these wrong doings. Schools tend to have a zero tolerance policy for cheating. “There is the possibility this will cause permanent harm. What university will it keep him out of? Will that have far-ranging consequences in what kind of job he can get?” (Berghouse). The students father is very worried about how this could look in the future. He believes that getting kicked out of a class for cheating was harsh and could affect his sons options in the future. 
I believe the students should receive a harsh punishment for cheating. Nothing bugs me more when people ask me for answers to homework or a test. Not because they aren't my friends or I don't like them. Its because I'm not going to let someone else use me to take the easy way out for their lack of work and effort. I am positive most people feel the same way. For those reasons I do think that cheating should result in a harsh punishment for students.