The Dartmouth: How did you decide to go into business with SchoolSucks?
Sahr: In 1995-96, I was in university and I had seen the web and realized its potential for students. I decided I wanted to create something for students, in general. It was important to get the loyalty of the students and reach them all through the web. So I decided to come up with SchoolSucks. I knew that if I didn't do something like this, somebody else would.
The Dartmouth: How do you respond to claims that web sites like SchoolSucks destroy the intellectual integrity of an environment such as college campus?
Sahr: Not at all, in fact I believe that it is helping the integrity of a campus because a.) it is free and b.) the essays are not graded ... and so, those kids that use it for plagiarism are just stupid. Those kids are stupid. Schools should thank SchoolSucks for weeding out the bad seeds that destroy the integrity of a campus. Those kids are so stupid and they should not be in college to begin with.
The Dartmouth: What are your personal views on cheating?
Sahr: Cheating is lying, and therefore it is wrong. I mean, don't these kids realize that eventually they'll have to deal with reality? They should learn to deal with a B instead of worrying about the consequences of cheating, plagiarism.
The Dartmouth: Do you believe that incidents of plagiarism are actually on the rise since essays have become downloadable on the Internet? Or have we just become more aware of the problem of cheating in general?
Sahr: This is kind of like the question about violence on television ... We are not behaving any worse than we did before. Before there were paper ... what do you call 'em? Paper mills. With the fraternities and sororities in college. And they were hidden before, so the profs couldn't see it, but at least SchoolSucks is in the open. Professors know what they are dealing with. And they know which students aren't worth their time.
The Dartmouth: What kind of students access your web site?
Sahr: Everyone. From junior high to masters level. But I think the most frequent users are those in high school and the first two years of college. Actually, it's unbelievable how hard it is to tell the difference between the papers of high school students and those in the first two years of college. And that, if nothing else, should be a strong criticism of the curriculum.
The Dartmouth: Do you feel that recent technologies which cross-reference students' papers to those on the web threaten your business?
Sahr: No, not at all, because SchoolSucks is not encouraging anyone to cheat. We keep telling people that we intend for the website to be kind of a first source for students. And all of our papers are free. Our money comes from advertisers.
The Dartmouth: Do you have anything else you wish to add?
Sahr: I thank the students for all their support. SchoolSucks is booming, while other dot-com businesses are crashing. We have the staying power because we are run by a small group of individuals and not by investors ... [our revenue] is 100 percent advertiser based.
