University of South Carolina Libraries
By Mark Morrow Gamecock Staff Writer What would you do if next week i paper was due in class on "The Mating Habits of the Scorpion" ant you had neither the time nor tiu inclination to write such a paper' Well, if you had heard of Collegiate Research Systems and could dig up a little yellow card with that name on it in boldfacE print across the center, had the money to pay $2.95 per page, and seven days to wait for it, you would have a paper. The "Mating Habits of the Scorpion" is just one of the 30,000 topics offered by Collegiate Research Systems, according to its owner John Magee. Magee, who is a University of South Carolina graduate, said besides the 30,000 papers at thei disposal he has a staff of 50 who can write on any topic that a student wishes to know about. Because of the large staff, Magee said he has never turned down a topic offered his company. Magee is not the kind of person one -would expect running such a profitable business. He has made $30,000 since September of lasi year and expects that figure to triple by next year. He graduated from USC in 1971 in business finance and within three years had his own business. He started with a loan from a friend two years ago. Since that time, Magee's business has spread to several offices, including New York, Chicago, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and even South Carolina. The South Carolina office was called the American Copywriting and Publishing Company and was located at Five Points. He said the business did fairly wellbut that his manager has moved his operation to San Francisco. You might ask just exactly what business John Magee is in? Well, that depends on your point of view. For Magee, the business is legally an "information dissemination organization", but to the student who needs a paper fast, the organization would be more properly called a "term paper dissemination organization". Magee prefers his definition. Student Contract In order to obtain a paper from the organization, one must sign a contract. It reads: "I will not copy or plagiarize your research materials. This study will not be claimed as my own work, nor be used by me to fraudulenly obtain credit, but will be used for reference and research purposes. With this purchase I have no intent to defraud my school. I understand that I am ordering a 'copywrited study that remains your proper ty." However, many students who receive the papers do not follow the *Term, Free Enterprise Or Overt Plagiarism? contract. According to Magee, I "can't control what happens to ti papers after they have been sold Magee may not have control, b several schools in the past ha, been a little more than perturb by his activities. He has be brought to court on several c casions and has had several i junctions brought against him. B he has won every case so far. The reason he can't be stopp from conducting his busines according to Magee, is that tl dissemination of information is l constitutional right. A closer lo at his contract will make it cles however, that his view of t contract and the actual contra are not in perfect harmony wh4 he talks about his business. Court Cases Magee said he has "no mor, scruples about his business at all It is a matter of mechanics, a cheating, but a timesavir device." He said he thinks th. term papers are stupi busywork and that he feels fine about his business. Magee me have no problem with the mora ethical, or legal side of h business, but many people haN contested his theory. Magee hi been in court from New Orleans I Philidelphia defending hi business. In New Orleans, Magee sai Loyola and Tulane Universitii tried to bring an injunction again his activities, but he won the ca: pleading the first and the fou teenth amendments. In Ne Jersey, Magee's homebase, he sai the Civil Liberties Union wou) back him if he ever was broughtl court on charges of perpertratir fraud or if any other legal acti( was brought against him. Paper B 13 ze ie t ve WII en n ut ad he ts IF, I Constitutional expert, Get al Haimbough, of USC Law Scl was impressed with Mage Dt operation. Haimbough said ig sounded like Magee had his a at fairly well covered. The C d stitutional expert said Magee i well within his rights. However y said Magee's contract may 1, help him if it could be proven I is he was cloaking his true intenti e and openly said he knew his is formation was being used for ot o perposes than was in this contra is Haimbough added, howev "You'll have to talk to a contr expert." Id Even considering the le problems one might find with s ta business, Magee said it is fa easy to start one's own busine He said, all you need is a phone dan office and access to the wril Ld term papers. Magee startec Idbusiness with his cousin, B Thomson. Now he has 50 peopl his disposal including doct lawyers, Ph.D.'s in Psychol( business, and just about all o1 areas who will write papers him. They are paid on deliver the paper. Expensive The papers are not cheap. would cost you $5.00 for every p of origianl research and $2.95 every page of copied work. I Magee said that his service cheap considering all the time would be spent on a well exect term paper. "However, the majority that this sort of an o to s isimess: P II P it it c f4 b '4 b P P VALUES ERODED ? t OR ti PRIVATE EN1TPRISE fI AT WORK a fl it n n r4 P it ri sl n s 0 rge Several professors around e' campus found the price rather high .e and some were little more than it p rea amused by the activities of Magee, 'qn- including Professor John L. h was Kimmey of the English Depart , he ment. He agreed with Magee that not term papers were little more than sl hat busywork, but said he could a ons probably tell if a student turned in ti in- a prewritten paper. He S her said the writing level would be ct. different, and that if it were er, footnoted, the footnotes might not act match the sources available. Kimmney said he was glad students had to pay so much because it s gal might deter them from seeking s uch such an outlet. f irly ss. Other professors were not so b and amused. Some were disturbed by n ten his activities and thought Magee E in was a "con man" and a "fraud" a Sat with no business at all. One s, rs, professor referred to him as a gy, "cheat and a bum." her Several professors were not a for familiar with such operations, but ti 'of agreed with statements of other N professors that such operations N were "shams" and were nothing P more than cheating operations. ci Journalism professor, Dr. Henry t ItPrice, also viewed such activity as Itcheating and punishable by ex epulsion. But, he seemed to think " ~ut, such operations were expected in oj is school. Price said, "School is the sE hat only place where consumers are w ted perfectly delighted to get less than o1 they pay for." tt of faculty members feel peration is a deliberate attempt ecnre the highest possible profits. Issues Globe Expose Back in 1971, the "Boston Globe" rinted an expose about the term aper business entitled, "Market i Term Papers Booming." And, i the April 19, 1971 issue of Time" magazine an article ap eared about the business entitled, Term Paper Hustlers." The articles were about a new ammercial venture called "Term apers Unlimited Inc." and its iunders Kenneth Warren and his rother, Ward. According to the Boston Globe" account, the rothers had sold 10,000 term apers at a rate of $3.50 to $2 a age. Both expected to become ealthy and they did. According to lagee, the pair are millionaires iday. Magee runs his business much ie same way that Warren did. In act, the "Boston Globe" quotes nd comments seem strikingly imiliar. Both Warren and Magee asist they are not involved in iassive plagiarism. Magee said iany customers use the papers for fference and may add to the apers content before handing it 1. The "Boston Globe" article aported that many graduate tudents, Ph.D,'s, and faculty embers made from $300 to $400 a eek writing papers. Magee also aid this is one of his best sources r paper writing. The wource of Magee's papers nd many of Warren's are "A" apers from students. In the Globe" report, Warren said he ad papers of "high quality". Magee is a polished and per aasive talker who gave up a job as n electrical engineer to devote his me to Collegiate Research ystems. Business Entrepreneur Business Entrepreneur Magee aid he could not fit into the mold of ciety and that this business of ers him the freedom he wanted. [e added that there would have een little incentive for him unless aoney was in it. As his assistant, rad Thomson said, "We take dvantage of the falacies of the ~stem." Magee said people may have to acept this kind of activity just as ey had to accept the Cliff and [onarch notes. According to [agee, his business does not revent students from having a full )llege career. But it actually alps them to concentrate more or eir major study area. However, the majority of faculty embers in the university en ronment feel that this sort of )eration is a deliberate attempt to cure the highest possible profit ithout real regard tor the morals -ethics traditionally honored by te academic community.