Two Students Disciplined For Buying Termpapers

Two unidentified students who purchased the same paper from Tempapers Unlimited, and handed it in to the same course, have been required to withdraw from the University.

A Harvard undergraduate and a graduate student with special student standing submitted a paper on Disraeli, sold under the guise of "research material," to History 142b, "British History Since 1870," taught by Harold J. Hanham, professor of History.

Hanham said last night that the 15 page papers were identical "except for a few typographical errors."

The graduate student was suspended for one year, with the option of applying for readmission, by the Administrative Board on Extension Studies, Dean Epps said last night.

The College Administrative Board required the undergraduate to withdraw, but recommended to the Faculty that he be dismissed by a Faculty vote. Since the student has a previous record of University discipline for plagiarism, the Ad Board's normal procedure would be to expel him with no option to reapply. With a Faculty vote to dismiss, however, he would be allowed to reapply in several years on the recommendation of the Ad Board.

Names Named

When the plagiarism was brought to Hanham's attention by his assistant, who graded the papers, he immediately turned the case over to the Ad Board. The undergraduate's Senior Tutor then called Termpapers Unlimited, identified himself, and was freely given information regarding the sales, including the names of the students involved.

Ward Warren, founder of Termpapers Unlimited, could not be reached for comment last night.

The incident may provide Harvard with a test case to challenge the operations of term paper companies on the grounds that they downgrade the quality of Harvard degrees.

Epps said yesterday that as soon as the undergraduate's case was concluded, both boards would submit reports to Daniel M. Steiner '54. general counsel to the University. The decision on whether or not to go to court will then be made on the basis of that in formation.

Epps. at yesterday's Faculty meeting, stated that he construed the ban on using tutoring schools in "Rules for Undergraduates" to imply a prohibition against buying papers from term paper companies.

Hanham described the papers as "somewhere in the C or B range; Someone used British high school historytextbooks, consciously trying hard not to do too good work. To be truthful, it sounded like extracts from books that sit side by side on the shelves in Widener Library," he said.

One Senior Tutor contacted last night was indignant about the term paper companies. "Students are just getting screwed by these places. They don't care if they sell the same paper to fifteen people in the same class. All they want to do is make money," he said.