English Department Uncovers Cheating Ring

During Regents week, the English department uncovered a case of academic dishonesty involving a group of seniors. The students, some of whom are in English teacher Minkyu Kim’s English class, were engaging in the buying and selling of essays.

Kim became aware of this situation when he caught one of his students cheating on an essay assignment. “It became known to me that a student in my class reached out to another student in my class soliciting an essay in exchange for money. Through investigating both those students involved […] it became clear to us that this was not just one person to another,” Kim said.

This incident was referred to Assistant Principal of English Eric Grossman. He held a meeting with Kim and the student supposedly writing essays for others, in which the student presented a text thread verifying the situation. Grossman then spoke to the student who requested the plagiarized English paper, and they confirmed the interaction.

From there, investigation of past assignments produced more students possibly involved in the affair. “I went back and looked through some past work that I received that semester and picked out [a] couple of the pieces that seemed a little suspicious. I called those people in and we got the names of a few people [who] were potentially involved,” Kim said.

When students are caught committing academic dishonesty, they face serious disciplinary action. To what degree the infraction affects the student’s overall English grade is determined by the importance of the assignment. “[The student] will get zero credit for the assignment. It’s meant to be a sliding scale. If it’s a big final paper, that’s going to be more meaningful,” Grossman said. Students are told to also notify their parents, and their parents are to reach out to the school. Assistant Principal of Security, Health, and Physical Education Brian Moran is then notified of the incident, and if it is a second offense, the student will receive a suspension.

This is Kim’s first time encountering the sale of essays on this scale. However, he noted that the commodification of such school assignments is becoming increasingly popular. “In researching some of this, I found that there are external sites that do this. […] It seems like it has been going on for a while [and that it is] a known practice,” Kim said.

Both Kim and Grossman recognize that a major factor that contributes to participation in academic dishonesty is the stress and heavy workload students at Stuyvesant experience, especially toward the end of a semester. “There are always a few students who are in a tough spot or in a jam and they find a way to cut corners, or they feel like their work isn't good enough [to] get them the grade that they desire, so they go to other means,” Kim said.

Kim understands that the vast majority of students work extremely hard, so when cheating does occur, it negatively impacts both the reputation of the school and the Stuyvesant community. “I hope that the students who are involved in this read [this] story,” Kim said. “I hope that they’ll understand that this hurts them too, because if Stuyvesant continues to have the reputation [of] a hub of cheaters, it tarnishes everyone involved, not just the students but also the people who work here and really do care about the school.”

Grossman hopes to prevent this kind of academic dishonesty from reoccurring. In response to this particular case, Grossman has requested that all English teachers create a Turnitin account for their classes. Turnitin, a plagiarism detection service, would allow teachers to see whether a student’s work is completely authentic. “We interviewed a number of kids following the thread of those conversations, and one dynamic seemed to be their awareness of which teachers use Turnitin and which teachers don’t. At this point, I just want to take that off the table,” Grossman said.

“Overwhelmingly, it’s just good, hardworking kids who feel stressed out and panicky and make a bad decision, and there is certainly no English teacher who wouldn’t rather prefer their students saying, ‘I’m feeling really overwhelmed and maybe I could have a couple more days,’ or, ‘I’m confused about how to get started and maybe you can help me,’” Grossman said. “We're here to help. We are understanding. [...] It's always best to speak to your teacher and let them know what’s going on.”