he Battalion
o
PINION
Page 11 • Friday, January 22, 1999
ree Speech vs. Academic Honesty
Boston University files suit against Internet sites in order to stop the sale of term papers
" 1 ast year, Boston
I University tiled a
■{lawsuit against
•veral companies
latlsell custom-writ-
n term papers to stu-
■s over the Inter-
^The accused
mpanies have spe-
jusly claimed the
Untie of the Consti-
Caleb
MCDANIEL
*nt of theS
Gill at the i
Minyard s
Senate.
II officially co
mmissioner
eeting and
te spring set
VRINO CASAS
istrial distribi' lt * cn t0 c * oa * < t ^ ie ‘ r misdeeds, arguing
:ience maior iat t ^ ie F ' rst Amendment protects their
awship Kick-Off! 1 ^! * 1| ' se ',
ally at thebe 11 - I le academic community, however,
; sj c anc | fe | |e ; loi ld unite in denouncing this ploy to
_Uotect plagiarism with patriotism. The
HHlom of speech does not entail a free-
diU of fraud.
(Bins litigation is Boston University’s
?cond attempt to obtain a court injunc-
-vard to there on against Internet sites like The Paper
and believe ;or - and A-l Research, which provide
1 have a po 1 prewritten and custom-crafted
u papers to buyers. The suit faced a
etlack last semester when Judge Patti
. Saris, a United States District Court
idge, dismissed the case because of
jclnical legal minutiae. Nevertheless,
le counsel for BU plans to pursue the
H despite this development, and the
fending companies have welcomed
■chance to argue the free-speech di-
Bsions of the case before an appel-
te court.
Robert B. Smith, associate general
■asel for BU, stated the plaintiff’s posi-
1 clearly in a December statement to
ffiNew York Times.
llt's a matter of academic integrity to
I he said.
Jarton Lowe, the owner of one of the
ipanies being sued, also made his
lings about BU’s effort plain. Lowe
id “it’s a flagrant violation of the Con-
tilition.”
defendants like Lowe, however, have
JGS ilsely framed the question as a battle be-
Michael Waegner/T
tween academic integrity and the Bill of
Rights. The issue really revolves around
the nature of illegal business practices.
Despite the companies’ fervent
claims that they are no more than inno
cent research institutions, it is clear
they are up to no good.
The Web page for The Paper Store
claims the “intended purpose of our pa
pers is that they be used as study aids
or as models of what term paper should
look like.”
However, the most lucrative part of
their racket is custom-written papers,
and BU raises the legitimate question of
why students just seeking “models”
would need papers tailored to their in
dividual requests.
Are we really to believe that a student
requesting a custom paper about the in
fluence of the 12th chromosome on fin
gernail development in the third month
of fetal growth for fraternal twins in
mothers with a calcium deficiency was
just unsure about the proper format for
footnotes? Perhaps these “research insti
tutions” should do a little research on
how to tell more believable lies.
A sting operation conducted by BU
lawyers revealed these bold disclaimers
to be entirely spurious. An attorney pos
ing as a student contacted several Inter
net sites looking for an English paper,
making it very obvious that she intended
to plagiarize the work.
All of the companies provided the
product. Many came complete with a ti
tle page printed for the particular course
and student who placed the order. So
much for only selling “model” papers.
But despite the obvious aid, the
companies provide to academic dishon
esty, their Constitutional case is
presently strong. Because freedom of
speech and fraud have not been exten
sively defined in cyberspace, scam
artists and seedy connivers can often
wiggle through the eyes of needles on
the back of the First Amendment.
Therefore, the courts and lawmakers
of the Information Age can no longer al
low legal loopholes to excuse patently
fraudulent practices. They should take
this opportunity to staunchly oppose the
threat these companies pose to intellectu
al property on the Internet.
The Founding Fathers gave wide lati
tude to the freedom of speech, but our
wig-wearing forbearers were not online.
They could not have foreseen that high
way robbery would eventually become a
cyber-crime or that one day Information
Superhighway bandits would use the Bill
of Rights to sell plagiarized term papers
on Constitutional Law.
Now, in their stead, we must take
the measures necessary to prevent the
freedom of speech from becoming a ve
hicle for legal deceit. Rather than pro
tecting the free-flow of information, as
they disingenuously claim, these com
panies devalue information by making
it cheap capital.
Free speech should be protected, but
swindled speech should be prosecuted.
Caleb McDaniel is a sophomore
history major
mization
50-60-60 Bill deserves full support
f Faculty Senate, student body
WrnVMen
THIS istfflJLY HISTORIC
fOR Cm THE SECOND
mwe jn history-
-7113
Aaron
MEIER
3LIC
agroom
ver the Fall 1998 semes
ter, Student Senate spent
a great deal of time and
debating and working on
^"""■so-called “60-60-60 Bill.”
■The bill would expand the
uiaber of Q-drops allotted to
udents to four. Instead of all
iur Q-drops being available
Ir the entire course of a stu-
eihts career, the proposed mea-
ip ConferenCute would allow the first two Q-drops to be used
unng a student’s first 60 hours, and the remain-
il ones would be put into effect after a student
■npleted 60 hours.
■The third 60 in the trio would extend the Q-
rlp deadline from the 50th class day, is the Uni-
ersity’s current policy, to the 60th class day.
■This week, the Faculty Senate approved the
V mTion of the plan that would expand the number
J Q-drops and how they would be distributed to
tildents.
12 day of^2||This is a step in the right direction for both the
tfdent and Faculty Senates. Early in their ca-
Brs, students are told that if they need to drop a
hibit Hall Mgs they should do it during their underclass-
aylor & Jay ^ years. So when the instance arises that this
loer misinformed soul hits an academic snag,
Jy run to their advisors office and get those
lilty blue forms of freedom.
"^However, they did not ratify the portion of the
illn that would allow the Q-drop peroid to be ex-
efided to the 60th day of class.
V \i ln a stor y tliat appeared in yesterday’s Battal-
Naomi Fackler, a College of Veterinary Medi-
)r0pd'M|e senator, said the current 50-day period offers
Indents plenty of time to decide whether or not
Hdrop classes.
■ “Fifty days is plenty of time. It is much longer
ban most schools offer,” Fackler said.
This may be true when students are under-
ssmen and have taken a test or two and maybe
;en a few quizzes in calculus or written two pa
rs for their introductory political science class,
for upperclassmen the same does not always
g true.
Many upperclassmen, especially those major-
in liberal arts can testify to the fact that more
|an half their grade is still outstanding after the
drop period has expired.
It is fully possible for a student to only have
ken one midterm exam and still have 75 percent
f final grade outstanding.
■ Many students can identify with the 20 page
Iper, worth a third of their grade that is not due
|til the last day of class, or the group project
"at could mean the difference between a C and a
If While students should have the courage and
■oral character to stand up and take a bad grade if
ley deserve it, whether it be through lack of
Reparation or just flat out not showing up to class.
The Faculty Senate should realize that some-
||nes the partner in a group project announces at
the last minute that he or she did not do their
work, or that the paper the student slaved over for
three months and toiled on with every ounce of
being they could muster gets returned with so
much red, it looks a sheet of Mao’s Little Red
Book.
Many schools across the nation do not have a
restriction on the number of classes that can be
dropped unless it is in a student’s major.
An extended Q-drop period would also in a lim
ited way benefit faculty members as well.
If a student thinking about registering for a
class sees six F’s out of a class of 40 students
they probably will protect their GPA and look
elsewhere, but if the number of F’s is lower, or
the ratio of A’s and B’s is higher thanks to the
number of failing students that dropped the
course, then registration for that professor might
increase.
Not to say that professors necessarily care
about grade ratios, but when looking for tenure,
every little bit helps.
Aaron Meier is a senior political science major.
•MICHAEL 33RDAM
HAS RETIRED ...
MAIL CALL
jrse
Aggies should be
more considerate
In response to H. Green’s Jan. 21 Mail
Call
As Aggies, we respect traditions and
the legacy of those who came before us.
We are also friendly. When you see a vis
itor walking on the MSC grass, you can
either scream at them like a wife-beat
ing white-supremacist in The Jerry
Springer Show or you can catch up to
that person on the pavement, introduce
yourself with a big “howdy” and dis
creetly explain the tradition of the MSC
grass and the Aggies it represents.
H. Green was our guest and didn’t
know the rules. After reading his letter,
it is obvious that he is humiliated, de
fensive and still doesn’t know why MSC
grass is sacred. Let’s do a better job in
the future Aggies.
Jeff Miller
Class of ’98
Lottery still not
entirely Satanic
In response to C. Gregory Dukes’Jan. 20
Mail Call
I would like to thank Mr. Duke for
pointing out to people across Texas
just how important Satan’s role is in
purchasing lottery tickets. However, I
would also like to point out that the
Lottery Commission has failed to heed
the call of its most loyal supporters:
members of the Church of Satan.
Twice I have requested from my
representative that he push the Lot
tery Commission to allow the number
“666” to be valid in the Texas lottery.
This would make the whole num
bers 1 through 50 and 666 valid lot
tery selections. We are not trying to
introduce pi, e, or Planck’s constant as
valid selections, just a simple integer
to reflect our support of the lottery.
The only concession the commission
has given is the Pick 3 selection of
666.
Unfortunately, the earning from this
said drawing is not adequate to sup
port our unholy cause.
I do disagree with Mr. Duke’s view
point on poor stewardship. Satan
has rewarded me with financial gain
only because of my stewardship. I
donate most of what I win to the
worthwhile foundations of The
Church of Scientology, The Ayn Rand
Foundation and NORML.
Through these selfless deeds and
the occasional chicken and/or goat
sacrifice, Satan has given me the abili
ty to pick some winning numbers.
I realize that this is a gift from a high
er (or lower) power and I return to Him
what he has given because we all know
just how important money is to both
God and Satan. They have to pay bills
too, don’t they?
I am glad someone has finally real
ized just how important Satan’s role is
in the lives of lottery players every
where. It’s about time we got the re
spect we so rightfully deserve.
Granville Wright
Class of ’97
Aggies should be
more considerate
In response to H. Green’s Jan. 21
Mail Call
“...Oh say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave o’er the land of the
free and the home of the brave”!”
As our respected and revered song
of liberty rings true, it was written out
of respect for those who have died
fighting for that freedom we all de
serve and, in fact, have. Texas A&M’s
Memorial Student Center is a dedica
tion to those men who have died and
is our way of remembering their sacri
fice of life and liberty. It is an outrage
that anyone, regardless of their alma
mater, would offer that their right to
“walk the shortest distance between
two points” would somehow be supe
rior to the student body’s desire to re
member our country’s heroes.
Green obviously doesn’t realize
that the rights that he observes every
day are the result of the loss of lives of
those soldiers, and yet he wants to re
serve the “right” to be offended by the
flagwaving attitude!
To refer to the Corps as a faction
of Nazi Germany was not only off
color but a display of Green’s own ig
norance. My bider is off to the “pim
ply-faced little shave-head” that tried
to uphold one of A&M’s revered
memorials. More students should act
in like manner to protect what this
country — and this University —
holds dear.
David Clinkscales
Class of ’00
accompanied by 72 signatures
The Battalion encourages letters to the editor.
Letters must be 300 words or less and include
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The opinion editor reserves the right to edit let
ters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters may
be submitted in person at 013 Reed McDonald
with a valid student ID. Letters may also be mailed
to:
The Battalion - Mall Call
013 Reed McDonald
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
77843-1111
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Fax: (409) 845-2647
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