by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright May 1, 2006
All Rights Reserved.

aavya Viswanathan caused quite a stir when the 18-year-old freshman nailed down a $500,000 book deal in April 2005 on her first novel “How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life.” She's caused a bigger stir now that she's accused of plagiarism. Little did anyone know, including her William Morris Agent Jennifer Rudolf Walsh and publisher Little, Brown, the ambitious New Jersey teenager had a plan for getting into Harvard. Her novel was actually a chip off-the-old-block, talking about the teenager's pressures from her Indian parents to get into the Ivy League. When packaging her application in her junior year of high school, her parents hired college counselor Katherine Cohen who referred her to William Morris. After reviewing her manuscript, Walsh connected Kaavya with Alloy Entertainment [formerly 17th Street Productions], who polished the work and sold it to Little, Brown.

      Kaavya never shared her obsession with teen-lit author Megan McCafferty, whose books “Sloppy Firsts,” and “Second Helpings,” bear striking similarities to “How Opal Mehta Got Kissed . . .” Calling the parallels “unintentional and unconscious,” Viswanathan responded to inquiries from Harvard's school newspaper The Crimson, finding at least 13 examples of possible plagiarism and 29 sections with remarkably close paraphrasing. Sounding scripted by Little, Brown, Kaavya offered more disclaimers. “Recently, I was very surprised and upset to learn that there are similarities between some passages in my novel, ‘How Opal Mehta Got Kissed . . .' and passages in these books,” said Kaavya, acting clueless about how she lifted McCafferty's work. “I wasn't aware of how much I may have internalized Ms. McCafferty's words,” promising revisions to “eliminate and inappropriate similarities.”

      Harvard's reluctance to investigate what looks like a clear case of moral turpitude is cause for alarm. Faculty and students had no problem hounding former president Lawrence H. Summers from office for airing his misquided views about innate differences between men and women. While Viswanathan doesn't speak for Harvard, allowing intellectual theft even where it doesn't involve Harvard directly sets a dangerous precedent. Convictions for criminal offenses unrelated to work at the university can result in discipline, suspension or expulsion. “Our policies apply to work submitted to courses,” said Robert Mitchell, director of communications for Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, suggesting the university has little recourse. Allowing cheating either in the admissions process, or, worst yet, in students' extracurricular activities, sends the wrong message.

      Since the story broke April 25, Kaavya has apologized but not accepted responsibility for plagiarizing her literary guru, Megan McCafferty. For the wunderkind with the “photographic memory,” it's inconceivable that she had such blind-spots. Her agent was quick to excuse the 19-year-old sophomore. “Knowing what a fine person Kaavya is, I believe the similarities were unintentional. Teenagers tend to adopt each other's language,” said Walsh, Kaavya's agent-turned-psychologist, offering more feeble excuses. No teenager in high school or earlier, and certainly not gifted college students, are too confused to recognize when they're stealing someone's work. If Viswanathan really wanted to come clean, she wouldn't duck the press, trying to get to the bottom of the story. Taking an early vacation from Harvard and letting her agent do the talking speaks volumes.

      While there's nothing wrong with Alloy Entertainment tweaking the manuscript and sharing the copyright, there's something wrong with a young author duping her agent, publisher and literary consultants. Kaavya's “amnesia” defense doesn't hold water, now that the New York Times reported more suspicious parallels with Sophie Kinsella's 2004 novel “Can You Keep a Secret” [Dial Press, a division of Random House]. Like Kaavya, Random House now refuses further comments. Retreating into seclusion and avoiding reporters' questions can only be interpreted as “flight” from the crime scene—in this case, Kaavya's intellectual larceny. Little,Brown, now facing copyright infringement liability, muzzled Kaavya for legal reasons. It's doubtful the 19-year-old can return to Harvard or her writing career without creating disruptive controversy.

      Ducking the press exposes Viswanathan's culpability. Calling her plagiarism “unintentional and unconscious” gives a convenient excuse but doesn't deal with her undeniable theft purloined from McCafferty's “Sloppy Firsts” and “Second Thoughts,” and, most recently, Kinsella's “Can You Keep a Secret.” While Kaavya's young literary career hangs in the balance, Harvard must face the reality that she disgraced the university and represents an unavoidable distraction to faculty and students. Whether “unconscious” or “unintentional,” intellectual theft represents the most egregious affront on the integrity of the university, literary profession and, indeed, society. Attributing her mistakes to youthful indiscretions or immaturity ignores the honor system on which all depend for success. Cheaters, like Viswanathan, must be dealt with to protect those who play by the rules.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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