Is Cheating Such a Crime?

Sept. 20, 2007 — -- For a small town, Hanover, N.H., is home to some prestigious institutions. Dartmouth College, a member of the Ivy League, is nestled in the center of town, and the renowned Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center is right down the road.

Incomes and housing prices are high in Hanover, and so are parents' expectations. Every June, the local Valley News prints a list of students next to the name of the college they will attend. "The status symbol here is not what car you drive but where your kids go to college," said Jim Kenyon, a columnist for Valley News.

And now in this academic pressure cooker a cheating scandal has roiled tensions and divided the town.

Kenyon's 17-year-old son, Nicholas, and eight of his classmates from Hanover High School are facing criminal charges in connection with a series of events that took place at the school last June.

According to police, just before final exams, several students stole a set of keys, broke into a locked cabinet and grabbed some math exams while other students acted as lookouts. A few days later, more students allegedly stole chemistry exams. The police report states that other students were enlisted to figure out the answers, and the results may have been widely distributed. As many as 60 students may have cheated.

Charges Lodged

After an investigation, four students were charged with criminal trespass for their alleged role in the theft. Five other students, who allegedly acted as lookouts, have been charged with "criminal liability for the conduct of another."

In New Hampshire's criminal justice system, 17-year-olds are treated as adults. All these charges are classified as Class B misdemeanors, and carry a fine of $1,200, but no jail time.

"This was not a crime of opportunity. This was premeditated. There were some plans that were tried and then retried. They made some serious attempts. We do not investigate things like cheating, but this was breaking and entering," said Hanover Police Chief Nicholas Giaconne.

Some of the students could have been charged with felonies, given the nature of the offenses, which included cutting a window screen and stealing keys, he said.

But many parents are furious that the police were involved at all. "The school never contacted a parent. I first heard about this from the police. Not to excuse my son's behavior, but we have now had our police department spending seven weeks investigating a cheating scandal. … We are not trying to get these kids off, but the police should never have been involved," said Kenyon.

Parents and others in the community have suggested that the students are being treated harshly because they are the kids of prominent local citizens -- including, reportedly, the son of a leader at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center -- although police vehemently deny that had anything to do with the decision to file charges.

"This is a town where police have to deal with the elite and top cream of society. … We don't show favoritism. We call it as we see it. And not all of those charged are from wealthy families," said Giaconne.

'Moved Away From Right and Wrong'

The cheating scandal has been front-page news in this tiny New England town for months. And tensions remain high. Just about everyone in town seems to have an opinion on the kids, their parents and where to place blame.

"There are people who say punish them. And other people who are more sympathetic to the parents. And the parents are saying, 'I don't want my kids held for any serious criminal activity. …They won't get into college,'" said Aine Donovan, a professor and executive director of the Ethics Institute at Dartmouth College.

What happened at Hanover High School should be seen in a larger context, she said. "The millennial generation, kids born after 1983, are cheating more than other generations. These are kids who were born to highly educated, older parents. They didn't go to summer camp to learn to canoe. They went to space camp. They tend to be relativistic in that they have moved away from values of right and wrong."

A 2002 survey by the Rutgers' Management Education Center found that 75 percent of 4,500 high school students admitted to cheating.

"We have to ask why these kids cheated. Why do 75 to a hundred kids cheat on an exam? There is a lot of pressure. These kids do not even have a lunch hour. No one wants to give up that 50 minutes of class time," said Kenyon.

'Changed as a Family'

On the advice of their parents and attorneys, the students aren't talking. But in interviews with the police, several kids suggested that cheating at Hanover High was widespread, using a "everybody does it" defense that ethicists like Donovan hear all the time.

School Superintendent Wayne Gersen rejects the notion that Hanover High School's standards of excellence act as some sort of incubator for unethical behavior. "Yes, we have a lot of energetic, enthusiastic, high-achieving kids. Seventy percent are involved in athletic teams, and 90 percent go on to college. But I have to say I don't think the pressure is any different now than when I graduated in 1965."

Gersen said that cheating incidents are usually handled internally among parents, school officials and teachers, but that this situation was very different. "We called the police because our building was broken into. In the same way any homeowner would call."

But while locks can be fixed, it's not so easy to fix a teenager's reputation. Perhaps that's why Kenyon and his family have done some soul-searching since the scandal.

"We've changed as a family. Obviously, we have to do a better job … to teach our kids that when you cheat you are affecting more than just yourself. He made a mistake in judgment. He's 17, but our kid's future is at stake now."

Attorneys for the students involved have asked the police to reduce the charges to violations -- ones that would not carry criminal penalties. Kenyon said he would like to see his son perform community service, possibly by speaking to other students about cheating and its consequences.

Both the police and prosecutor said they have no plans to reduce the charges further. And they expect the trials to begin as scheduled in November.

As for the town of Hanover itself, there will be more opportunity for soul-searching. Next week, Donovan leads a public forum to discuss matters of ethics and good character. The whole town is invited to attend.