B-School Alleges Plagiarism

The Business School yesterday impounded approximately 850 papers written by first-year students because of alleged plagiarism in two of the papers.

Students received photocopies of the papers yesterday at section meetings of the class, "Writing and Oral Communication. "They were read a statement declaring that all the papers were being held to "protect the rights of the two students involved", and that the case would probably involve a hearing by the Judicial Review Board.

The Same Source

The two accused students both allegedly plagiarized their papers from the same source, rather than one copying from the other, Wickham Skinner, associate dean for the MBA program, said yesterday.

Skinner said that one student's defense rests on his allegation that a secretary typing both his paper and the other student's paper accidentally put his name on a copy of the other student's paper. Since the student's defense rests on the possibility that his real paper lies somewhere among the 850 others, Skinner said all the papers were impounded to protect the student's rights.

Skinner and Lawrence E. Fouraker, dean of the Business School, both declined to name the students involved.

Philip J. Lawrence, lecturer on Business Administration and the course's instructor, yesterday declined to comment beyond repeating the administration's statement on the matter.

Detective Work

Donald B. Roberts '70, director of the MBA program, said yesterday that his office had completed an investigation into the allegations, but he did not reveal its conclusions. He said that he will turn over the results of the inquiry to the Judicial Review Board for its consideration.

The chairman of the Judicial Review Board, Henry B. Reiling, professor of Business administration, was unavailable for comment last night.

The assignment required an explanation of computer simulation. The first part was a theoretical discussion and explanation of simulation, and the second part was an application of it to a business situation.

Steven Hindman, a student in the class, said yesterday that the administration was being "very secretive" about the reasons for the papers' impoundment, and that the prepared statement read to the students "said nothing."

Richard W. Edelman '76, another student in the class, said yesterday, "It's so stupid. Two people cheated."

But while some students fumed over the situation, many remained indifferent. "I just got my usual low grade," one unidentified member of the course said