Four students who used the Internet to buy research papers got suspended for a week. The school board will meet Tuesday to determine whether the students can return to normal classes.

“It’s unfortunate these students felt they had to cheat to succeed in this class when all they had to do was to put in the time it takes to create a quality research paper and they would have passed,” principal Susan Aleman said.
These students who bought the research papers were suspended for seven days and given the opportunity to re-write their research papers and receive a maximum of 70 as a final grade. They may not make up work for other classes, however they may spend their suspension in the library, re-doing their research papers.

“It is written in the agreement that if they are caught with buying [a research paper] they will be punished…” English department chair Clara Barton said. “All four broke the honor code of the English class by doing this. I think their punishment is equitable for what they did.”
The students read and signed the agreement, however they broke the rules of the honor code. Barton believed that their punishment equaled out with their choice.

“I admit, I was one of the people who bought a research paper. It was one of those things, though, that I had to do,” senior William Jefferson said. “I have to work 30 hours a week to help supplement the family’s income since my dad got laid off two months ago.”
Jefferson and the three other students who bought research papers all went to court and lost the case because of their actions.

“The agreement is like everything else in school. They stick it under our noses, and we sign it without really reading it,” senior Sandy Peoples said.
Every student signed an agreement at the beginning of the year stating the rules that the four students broke. The school board will decide if the students should carry on with their suspension or return to school.

“I guess kids will start reading what they sign from now on,” Peoples said.