This letter is in response to John Eumenides’ letter in the March 20 edition of The Northerner. Assuming that the letter was written seriously and without sarcasm, I was quite disappointed to learn that anyone could think that plagiarism is a good thing.

Plagiarism has become a serious issue in our society. Study after study finds that more and more students are admitting to cheating and plagiarizing as part of their daily schoolwork. Recent cases at the University of Virginia and the University of California-Berkley have shown that the problem may be worse than anyone realizes.

And it is a problem. Plagiarism is just another sign, and cause, of the dumbing down of society. Too many students lack either the time, the self confidence or the creativity to come up with new ideas and write their own papers.

A quick hop on the the world wide web of deceit can lead students to nearly 500 different Web sites that sell or give away term papers. Electronic plagiarism has taken this crime