Desperate measures when Red Bull isn't enough

Or so I thought.

Apparently I stand corrected, or at least embarrassingly naive.

A friend of mine told me last week that he'd started taking Adderall illicitly on a daily basis to help him concentrate while writing his thesis. Adderall is a prescription stimulant that increases one's ability to stay focused on a task and awake on minimal sleep. It is prescribed to people diagnosed with attention deficit disorders. My friend, who does not have any such disorder, had no prescription. He had purchased it on campus like you'd imagine one might purchase any illegal drug.

I was a little surprised, but I had always imagined there was a small contingent of students at this pressure-cooker who, out of desperation, might do this on rare occasions for an all-nighter or an exam. But shockingly, my friend said he thinks a large minority of seniors with pressing deadlines in the next few weeks is using Adderall. (When I say a large minority, I mean a significant number, not rare exceptions. Think: Marijuana use isn't widespread on college campuses, but it certainly isn't rare either.) I've always considered my friend a reliable source, but I figured I would investigate further. After asking a number of seniors from a fair sampling of social circles, I found that my friend appeared to be right. Taking Adderall or similar drugs like Ritalin to help with academic work is not uncommon, especially for seniors pushing to finish their theses. In fact, some people say they swear by it.

Adderall comes in several forms, with fast-acting pills lasting for four to five hours per dose and extended release pills lasting up to 12 hours per dose. Students told me they had experimented with doses but that even a small amount helped them stay focused on one task, like writing a paper, for several hours - no succumbing to the kryptonite-like powers of facebook.com, youtube.com and writing guest columns.

Not only was I told of significant first-hand experience with people's use but also of people who have sold it to other students. Students often claimed that it is possible to get pills cheaply: The going rate is generally between free and $10.

What I took away from all this is that, while it's not the norm, it's more than rumors, and I spoke to more than a few seniors who have begun taking Adderall daily as they push to the finish. Widespread Adderall use also goes beyond just thesis work; an overwhelming number of students who responded to my questions said they knew of prevalent, illicit Adderall use by students during the days preceding Dean's Date.

There are two important things at stake, and to be honest, I'm not sure which is a bigger deal. The first question I asked myself: How does this affect student health? The second: Does this undermine our notion of academic integrity?

It doesn't surprise me that college students abuse illicit drugs. And like just about any college setting, it happens at Princeton too. In four years I've witnessed Princeton students use drugs ranging from pot to shrooms to coke both on and off campus (read: in dorms as well as the Street). Still, in those cases students use for a different type of experience, not as an aid to their studies.

For the purpose of crunch-time studying, there's coffee, Red Bull and even caffeine pills. These substances may not be great for our bodies, but we cannot deny their legality. But when students begin taking unprescribed prescription drugs in order to cope academically, we - students, faculty, administrators and parents - are forced to ask what we have come to as an institution. Princeton is no doubt a high-strung, high-pressure place but when do institutional pressures go too far?

It also begs the question of whether, in atmosphere of grade deflation, students know there are a limited number of top marks and thus they pressure themselves to use medication in order to keep up with other students who have done the same. One junior suggested the blame lies with students rather than with academic pressure. He wondered if this was the result of people who insist on starting at the last second and want it all - good grades and lots of fun-filled procrastination.

While the causes are likely multifaceted, the effect is still unsettling. It is already worrying enough that drinks like Monster and Red Bull have become the norm - will we continue down this slippery slope, one that began when coffee and Coca-Cola simply replaced a full night of sleep?

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The more I thought about this, the more I began to ask a second question - one unrelated to health. One senior, who also knew about the frequency of Adderall use told me it went against her sense of academic integrity. She wondered if taking medications to study gave students an unfair advantage - a sort of academic steroid. Though I hesitate to liken academic use of Adderall to steroid use in sports, the two are similar: Both serve performance-enhancing purposes. Certainly, there is a complex ethical question at hand, and where organized sports have taken steps to monitor substances that un-level the playing field, Princeton must at least reconcile how this impacts our highly esteemed Honor Code. Perhaps our famed academic pledge should read: I pledge my honor that I have not violated the Honor Code during, nor used academic-performance enhancing drugs to prepare for, this examination.

Alex Peters is a religion major from Riverside, Conn. He can be reached at awpeters@princeton.edu.