Use of ‘study drugs’ called into question

The 21st century has seen numerous advances in the fields of psychology and medicine. Perhaps most definitive of the last decade of progress has been the rise to prominence of focus-enhancing medications such as Ritalin and Adderall for the treatment of the attention deficit disorder and other learning differences. In addition to the debates that have sprung up around today's medicated youth, focus-enhancing drugs have developed an alternative, unofficial use as study aids. The popularity of such "study drugs" has risen to such a degree that they have become a key blip on the radar of academic culture in both secondary schools and institutions of higher learning.

In the wake of the recent, ultimately unsuccessful but thought provoking nonetheless, crusade of Wesleyan University senior, Bradley Spahn, to classify the use of study drugs as cheating, the highest of academic offenses, and the swiftly approaching study period that characterizes the semester's end, it is perhaps time to consider the prevalence and ethics behind the use and abuse of study drugs at Vassar.

However, when it comes to dialogues concerning the abuse of study drugs, the College has been relatively silent. Is this rapidly popularizing culture truly so discreet, or does the abuse of study drugs occupy a space so elusively defined that it is currently intangible to administrative oversight?

In response to the a question about the hesitancy to officially recognize the prevalence of the use and abuse of study drugs, Dean of Students Benjamin Lotto said, "I have no information about that, those are choices that students make in the privacy of their dorm room." While none deny that these substances are being used on campus, definitive numbers concerning prescription drug abuse are elusive, leaving the College hesitant to quantify or define the issue even as it actively seeks an understanding of abuses such as those surrounding underage drinking.

Vassar Student Association Town Students Representative Maya Acevedo '11, however, believes that the prevalence of study drugs at Vassar is something that is approaching the point of normalcy for students. "I think there's a lot of prescription abuse on campus," she began. "Because these drugs are prescribed to some people they are so accessible to the extent that people will be sold out immediately around finals time." Acevedo references the possibilities of buying from a dealer, or taking a pill from a friend with a valid prescription as readily available channels for students to gain access to these substances.

When considering study drugs, the most prominently voiced concern from the College was that pertaining to the potential health risks associated with the practice. Dean of Students David "D.B." Brown explained, "I worry because if you're using something that's prescribed you won't know what the side effects will be, and it's not yours."

Lotto added, "If a student is introduced to this choice, there's a health issue and the student needs to weigh the health impacts of making a choice like that." Acevedo cites her lack of knowledge of the long term side effects of drugs such as Adderall as the turning point in her decision to not take such drugs. She added, "Just because a doctor prescribes it, doesn't mean it's safe."

Brown extends the issue, noting the legal complications implicit in the abuse of study drugs. "The issue is that you are using someone else's prescription," he clarifies. "Not only is this illegal, but whoever is giving it to you is distributing drugs." Responding to the legal issue, however, is mired in the same obstacles that allow other illicit substances to infiltrate campus. "The trouble is we're not going to go room to room, there's not going to be a sweep. Any drugs, any information that we have for the use, distribution or sale of anything illegal we respond to," noted Brown. However, Brown points out that the College is in the position to take action against students who are found to be illegally in the possession of any substance. "[Students in the possession of study drugs] are equally in violation of College regulations. The sanction that you might get if you are doing them might vary, [but] the sale of drugs is illegal regardless of what it is. It's not like one is more okay than the other."

Lotto, however, is more concerned with ethical implications of study drug abuse. "If you're separating out the legal issues you're really talking about the ethics of choices that impact your health, the ethics of choices regarding dishonesty and honesty. You're really talking about the same considerations that we all give to all of our considerations everyday." Acevedo herself is aware of the complicated ethics surrounding the use of study drugs and confesses, "I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't use any [study drugs] this year in writing my thesis; a big part of it is to see if I can do it on my own."

It is when the issues of legality and prescription are temporarily suspended that the ethics surrounding the use of performance enhancing drugs, as it were, becomes murky. "Suppose we had a documented case of a student using this drug to help them study for an exam and they're brought up on these charges. How does this compare to coffee, [Red Bull] or even cocaine?" said Lotto of the issues complications. Associate Dean of the College for Campus Life Edward Pittman wonders whether or not a focus-enhancing drug is simply drawing from one's natural abilities rather than imparting a new talent, while Brown maintains that so long as study drugs are producing an effect that can be replicated, at least to a degree, by legal substances such as caffeine, that it is difficult to fully condemn the use of so called "study drugs." It seems that so long as legal avenues for performance enhancement exist, the case against Adderall from the perspective of academic integrity will be an uphill battle.

Further complicating the issue, Acevedo calls into question the potential place of study drugs as a tool that connects the modern student's digitally enhanced, instant gratification driven, terminally multitasking lifestyle with the traditions and expectations of academia. "There is no talk about the amount of stress that students are under that force them to resort to [study drugs.]" She continues, "I think the prevalence of study drugs is a product of our fast paced culture." Acevedo added that students are further driven towards artificial enhancement due to the lack of "recognition for doing it all on your own."

But is it cheating? For Brown, the answer is no. He again stresses the legal component as central to the conversation: "I think that if you're using something that is illegal for the effects it will give you, then you're breaking a law."

Lotto, too, is unwilling to make a blanket statement concerning a potential administrative position on the use of study drugs. "My initial thought is that it's not a black and white question, and it really needs to be thought through." He continues, "These drugs have a legitimate purpose for students who have been diagnosed with conditions that make these drugs appropriate. Now you're talking about sort of a kind of spectrum, and there are clearly some instances where using this drug is okay that are sanctioned by medical professionals. It seems to be complicated enough that I wouldn't want to say, ‘This is cheating.'"

Lotto goes on to address the perceived hesitancy on the part of the administration to vocalize a position on the issue of study drugs. He explains, "At Vassar we try to promote ethical decision making, healthy living, but we don't say, ‘Don't choose this, don't choose that.' This is a deeply ingrained Vassar sensibility that students make their own choices on their own and face the consequences of that." He concludes, "The consequences of drug use are medical, legal and personal." Acevedo further defines the culture surrounding study drugs as one dependent on the modern emphasis placed on academic success. "There's a self valuation," she says, "that is based on how you do as a student. One thing I have learned is that I am not my grades. Most of us have been students since we were five and we can only identify as such."

She concludes, "I think that when I finish my thesis without a pill, I will feel really good about myself. I know that I can do it; it just takes allowing myself the time to get lost and then find myself again."