THE ONLY COLLEGE DAILY IN THE SOUTH
J
. '
I :
A JOURNAL 0?
j THE ACTIVITIES
! OF CAROLINIANS j
!
1
tl
TO CREATE
A CAMPUS
PERSONALITY"
'ft ff
VOLUME XLIV
EDITORIAL PHONE 4151
CHAPEL HILL, N. C, SATURDAY, FBRUARY 1, 1936
BUSOTZSS PHOXZ 415S
NUMBER 94
LIS!
MP
S IEVE ALE
Foreword: The following story
is the first official history of the
successive student efforts to un
cover a large ring of organized
cheating which has been operat
ing for over three years on the
University campus.
If was purposely withheld from
publication until this morning so
that all evidence which students
uncovered could be presented to
the student council. This has been
done.
It is urged that every student
read the story completely . in or
der to get the true facts instead
of relying on the hundreds of
false rumors and misrepresenta
tions which are current on the
campus.
The Boy heard about the
cheating ring before we went
home, for the Christmas holi
'days. He told his father and his
lather made him promise to go
back to Chapel Hill and assist in
getting to the bottom of it and
in wiping it from the campus.
" The Boy came back and told
the Student, a friend of his. The
Student went to the room of A
-and told him what the Boy had
said. A told the Student to ask
the Boy to come over to see him
.and the Boy came. -:
By that, time, rumors which
had been unnoticed were picked
up and they added weight to
wrtiat the Boy had to tell. Pieced
together, the story sounded like
something.
Discussing the matter, the lit
tie group decided that the best
thing to do would be to run the
leader . of the ring out of town
The leader was named X and the
Boy knew it and had told the
Student and A.
Many Involved
Then it was found out,
through . rumors and other
words, that X had a number of
assistants who would possibly
carry on the work if X had to
leave. And there would still be
the assistants to be attended to.
Furthermore, there would be
about: 200 students (so they
thought) who were involved in
the cheating activity of X and
Iknew about his program. The
only way to get rid of X and his
assistants and to prosecute for
violation of the honor system
the 200 students supposed to be
involved would be through the
student council.
A had told his room-mate,
and together they went to Presi
dent Frank Graham and - told
him of what they had heard and
.of what they felt certain was
true. They asked him if a prose
cution following an investigation
-would, at that time, hurt Dr.
Graham and the University in
its position of indefiniteness
about the future.
' Graham Behind Them
Dr. Graham replied, as al
ways, that if what they had told
him was true, then they should
not stop until it was completely
cleaned up. They must go to the
bottom of it. They must be care
. ful and make sure of their facts,
but they must not stop until the
Board of Trustees
The board of trustees, meet-
ing yesterday in Kaieign,
passed what might be regard
ed as a vote of confidence in
President Graham by refer -ring
the consideration of ath
letic eligibility back to the
president and faculty of the
University and of State Col
lege. The student council request,
presented by Dr. Graham,
which asked that the word
"dismiss" in the trustee rul
ing on drinking, hazing and
gambling be changed to "dis
cipline," was grante'd.
The out-of-state tuition
rate was raised by vote of the
board.
Consolidation and its issues
were deferred until the June
meeting, at which time it will
be made a special order.
The board ratified changes
in student government and
publications fee. More infor
mation on all these issues will
appear in tomorrow's issue of
this newspaper.
Pool's Statement
Student Council President
jack Pool issued the follow
ing statement last night:
"The Student Council is
judging each case as fairly as
it can. Every possible thread
of evidence has been and will
be investigated, even so far
as members of the council
themselves are involved."
The statement was ap
proved by the council.
job is done.
And, more important, Dr.
Graham emphasized that it was
a matter to be done entirely by
the students. He said that the
administration left the operation
of the honor principle to them
It. would like to be kept advised
of all progress, but it , would not
interfere with student work in
uncovering this breach of honor.
That night half of the later
student group which uncovered
the cheating ring was organized.
First it was necessary to find
out if they had a right to enter
the premises of X and seize his
papers to procure evidence of
his dishonorable work. The
State Attorney-General and As
sistant-Attorney-General were
contacted and, after a good deal
of investigation, they, advised
the students that they were le
gally right in conducting their
investigation in that manner.
Conduct Scored
So about 5:30 in the after
noon of Saturday January 25, A
and the president of the student
body, who had been notified of
the group's intended program,
and Chief of Police Sloan and
Officer Wright of the local force,
with a , search warrant which
had been sworn out by the Jus
tice of the Peace and the Chief,
entered the room of X.
X was there and he submitted
to a search, of the room. Then
he was questioned and as the
conversation went on, A took
down every word on X's type
writer. A and the president of
the student body questioned X
for five hours. The two officers
were present for a part of the
time, and, at the beginning of
the second hour, Dean Brad-
.... -
shaw was called down by the
president of the student body.
Following the questioning, the
interviewers left with , all the
papers seized in X's room and
the first confession which A had
copied down.
It must be noted here that X
was not promised by the stu
dents or by Dean Bradshaw im
munity from prosecution in the
courts if he would give informa
tion against the students in
volved. He began his confession
approximately one hour before
any representative of the Uni
versity was present. During his
confession he expressed the fear
Vie Face A Crisis
The honor system is in the balance, and with it, our very
student government. !
Upon the student body rests their fate. If we fail to sup
port our student council in its present deliberations, if we fail
to rally to answer the challenge which this disgraceful episode
has produced, then we have dug the grave of the honor sys
tem and we have built the coffin of the student government.
For we will have been responsible, we, the student body."
If we hesitate, if we have not the courage to stand with our
council at its most trying hour, we will cause this, the Uni
versity's most precious treasure to be trampled in the dust and
forgotten.
This cheating imbroglio has' been uncovered , by students.
That is of utmost significance.' And it is being removed, its
cancerous self is being cut completely away, by the students.
That is even more significant. -if
This proves that the honor system is working. But it does
not prove that it has worked well or that it will continue to
work. ' : ';
THE RESPONSIBILITY IS "THE STUDENT BODY'S. IF
WE HAVE ALLOWED THIS NASTY SITUATION TO OC
CUR, IF WE HAVE SLUMBERED WHILE OUR VERY
FOUNDATION OF STUDENT LIFE HAS BEEN ATTACK
ED, WE ARE TO BLAME FOR THE UNFORTUNATE CON
SEQUENCES OF OUR NEGLIGENCE.
AND IF THE HONOR SYSTEM IS TO BE MAINTAINED
IN THE FUTURE ON THE HIGHEST LEVEL, THEN EV
ERY STUDENT MUST ANSWER THIS CHALLENGE
WITH A VOW AND PLEDGE OF RESPONSIBILITY.
There must be a realization that we have failed and. not the
honor principle. And realizing this, we must swear by all
things sacred, that it will not happen again, this failure. IT
CAN'T HAPPEN.
Among us have been those hypocritical students who have
preached the merits of the very principle which they seek to
destroy. Many of them have gone or are leaving. But the rest
cannot be allowed to stay, either. We must be for the honor
principle to a man, or not at all.' We have seen what happens
when this is not the case. I
This -tremendous cheating activity has been broken up. The
students themselves have done it. The administration has left
it up to us and we have succeeded. But that is not all; we
must continue to succeed.
That we have done what we have done, that we have as-,
serted our faith and our devout belief in this principle of hon
or, that we have been able to place it before personal vanity
and in spite of personal anguish these are proof that we can
and will maintain forever this heritage, which, through our
unforgivable negligence, we have allowed to be besmirked by
fellow students whom we trusted.
The student council is faced with a crisis and they are bear
ing up. The most difficult test that any student government
has ever before met is theirs and they are succeeding by meet
ing it and carrying on.
Those students who uncovered the activities of cheaters
suffered pain and disillusion when they realized with whom
and with what they were dealing. Friends, respected leaders,
acquaintances, fellow students all these were on the list of
the untrue and it was this student group's duty, prosecuting
those whom they knew and respected and loved, to proceed
unflinchingly. .
If they had not done so, the honor system would have fallen
and the name of the University been eternally sullied. -;
The council must have proof of a man's guilt. They are not
convicting for mere knowledge of the cheating activity. This
is important.
It has been hectic for the past few days. Lies and slander
and gross misrepresentations have been flung across the cam
pus and into the state.
Yet We must think clearly. There is much to be done. We
have only started.
WE MUST NOT STOP NOW. EVERY PIECE OF EVI
DENCE MUST BE UNCOVEREDEVERY LAST VESTIGE
OF THIS DISHONORABLE ACTIVITY MUST BE TRACED
DOWN AND DESTROYED. THERE IS NO HALF-WAY
POINT. THERE IS NO SHORT CUT TO HONOR.
We are going to have to "take it on the chin" during the en
suing week. Many issues have been involved in what has hap
pened, and many personalities. It will not be pleasant, this
business of getting to the bottom of so disgraceful a thing.
But we must above all things remember that we ourselves
are the honor principle .and as we fight for its glory, so do
we, as a student body, a self-governing student body, fight for
our existence here. ,
We must show our faith in the honor system by living and
practicing, instead of by preaching and being wilfully blind to
its principles.
Student Council
The student council, hear
ing nine more cases, suspend
ed seven students for viola
tion of the honor principle in
sessions running yesterday
afternoon and last night.
Eight other cases which
were considered involved stu
dents who are not in school
and who consequently cannot
testify in their own favor at
present.
In the cases which did not
merit suspension, one student
was acquitted and the other's
case was deferred.
Further hearings will con
tinue today.
had. Y, on being quesioned, cor
roborated many of X's state
ments and added a number of
his own. And at that time, as a
result of that afternoon's con
versation, A and the student
body president found definitely
that there had been a helper in
the University mimeographing
department who had turned
over quizzes to X and Y, and
that the pass key to Bingham
hall was in their possession.
Many other such disclosures
were made in the hours of con
versation. Y, when asked for his papers,
told the two students that he
would get them and while A and
the student body president ques
tioned X, Y went away for 20
wandered into a semi-hysterical minutes, presumably to get the
worrying about what would hap- papers,
pen to his mother whose sole Gives Excuses
support he was. To quiet his He returned, however, with
fears about his mother and to out them and the pass key, which
bring his mind back to the busi- had been demanded of him. He
ness at hand he was told that said, first of all, that he had
he would be helped to rebuild his moved the papers the night be
shattered career (as many other fore to the room of a friend of
boys have been helped) provided his, although it later turned out
his repentance and reformation to be the basement of a certain
were genuine and he were to fraternity house. He said that
frankly confess to any prospec- he was unable to get the papers
tive employer this blot on his at that time as the friend was
record. , . at the moving picture show.
He was not told that if he Following f urttier question
would give the names of those ing (the whole conversation
involved the student council was again copied down corn
would deal leniently with them, pletely by A on the typewriter) ,
He asked several times what Y accompanied the two students
would happen, to the students to Y's room and made, arrange
and was told that he would have ments to meet the next day. At
to leave that matter to the coun- that moment A and the president
cil. . realized that thev must secure
Urged to Confess Y's papers that night, before Y
In all the discussion -with him had a chance to destroy them
he was urged to give all the facts and their valuable evidence.- ' -concerning
his activities for the Although Y was unwilling at
following reasons : first to go immediately to get the
He owed it to the University papers, he finally consented and
to do everything in his power to the three walked over to the fra
clean up a terible situation that ternity house. The student body
that the facts against him would
be used to prosecute him in the
courts. He was told at that time
that the Universiy as a matter
of policy did not prosecute its
students or former students in
the courts and would not prose
cute him unless it were abso
lutely necessary to do so to break
up his selling aid in cheating.
furthermore, prosecution - at
court would mean publicity as
-1 . j i
wi messes ior an students in
volved.
No Job Promised
Furthermore, no representa
tive of the University promised
him a job if he would testify
against the students. Still later
in the prolonged examination X
he had helped to create;
He owed it to the hundreds of
innocent students to clear their
names, of tne suspicion tnat
would attach to every student,
every grade and every diploma
until the guilty were known
from the innocent;
He owed it to the student
council to give them freely all
the facts without which intelli
gent and fair action on the par
tial facts already known would
be impossible;
. - He owed it to himself and his
mother to begin a straight le
gitimate career by confession,
restitution and reformation as
complete as possible.
Following the incident of the
first confession, A made copies
of the testimony with the help
of the others in the group.
Routine Begun
On the morning of Sunday,
January 26, the papers which
had been placed in the Univer
sity vaults were taken to , A's
room and the group began to
assort them. They included let
ters from students who had had
correspondence courses done for
them by X, books left there by
students for whom X was doing
work, papers being written, ac
count books and many other
pieces of evidence.
That afternoon A and the
president of the student body
went down to see X. With" X
this time was Y, who was X's
helper and whom X had told
completely of the proceedings of
the night before. Y had agreed
with X that the best thing to do
in the matter was to turn over
all the information which they
president, because of his posi
tion in student government,
stayed outside while A and Y
entered the house and in the
basement gathered the papers in
a satchel. The three then went
directly to the University Y. M.
C. A..
There Y asked that a few of .
his personal . belongings be re
moved from the bag and when
they opened the bag, A and the
president found that the key to.
Bingham, hall was not to bey
found among the papers. Y, .
however, insisted that it was,
and in a crudely-concealed ges-
(Continued on page two)
Bradshaw's Statement
Dean of Students Francis F.
Bradshaw last night issued
the following statement:
"The students testifying
and the council members act
ing in behalf of honest grades
and diplomas are doing the on
ly possible thing to save the
standing of this University.
"Every dishonest grade or
diploma casts suspicion on all
grades and v diplomas, subtly
poisons the spirit of the Uni
versity and corrodes the con
fidence between' students and
teachers alumni and Admin
istration, graduate and em
ployer. "
"This confidence is the only
possible basis of loyalty to the
University. The loyalty of
those who believe in the inte
grity of her work and the sin
cerity of all who represent her
is this University's one great
endowment." . r
V
i"n