As second semester exams and papers are beginning to reach the top of our “To-Do” lists, an interesting topic came up as a group of my friends and I were talking today. While I already know my “competition” against the people who start studying or drafting a paper weeks in advance, and those who like the adrenaline and pressure of cramming the night before, there is one type of student who I have never considered before; the Adderall-taker. While there are many people who have been prescribed to this self- enhancing drug for legitimate medical reasons, there are also the many who take it without the medical need to. I cannot help but ask myself; Is this a form of cheating? Is it fair that I, who puts all my time and energy in reviewing and studying for my tests well in advanced, am going up against people who don't even try and pop the pill the night before a test? Is it fair that I, who studied for months in advance in order to get the right timing down to successfully complete each section of the SAT in time, ended up with the same or maybe even a lower score as people who were able to focus for the entire 4 hour test straight as a result of this self-enhancing drug? As these questions began to circulate my mind, I thought of how this scenario may be very similar to “doping” before playing in a sporting event. What makes this different from Barry Bonds taking the national home run record as a result of “doping”? And what kind of message is this sending to college students today? It is clear that taking these types of medications help make students focus as well as enhance their cognitive performance, so the question still remains, is taking Adderall considered cheating in the overall game of school? I will leave that up for discussion, just something to think about…
- Brigitte
I absolutely agree with you that students' abuse of Adderall can be considered a form of cheating. Although the reading on "doping" questions whether or not the act can be considered cheating, I personally think it is, and definite parallels can be drawn between "doping" and using Adderall. The reading states, "A large part of fairness in sports, as in life in general, is the guarantee of meaningfully equal opportunities for people to pursue excellence," (Lavaque-Manty, 154) and drugs such as Adderall create a clearly uneven playing field in a competitive educational environment. I have several friends who abuse the drug in order to complete several weeks worth of work in a single day, and the results they yield are incredible. One of my friends finished 3 10-page papers in a a single day while on Vivanse. Just like doping, Adderall and similar drugs presents the user with a shortcut to achievement and a clear advantage over others; and because of that, I believe it qualifies as cheating.
ReplyDeleteI think taking adderrall without a prescription is a form of cheating, and gives the people who do so an edge compared to the people who don't. Taking adderrall without a prescription can be seen as a violation of the rules of education, making the playing field not level. I think an important issue with this, similar to the doping reading, is that others may feel the need to take drugs such as adderrall in order to make themsleves more competitive with the people who are doing so; people taking it without a prescription put an unfair pressure on those who don't, and don't want to. However, I think an important aspect to realize is that some people do need it and just do not have a prescription. But I do think that there are a lot of people who abuse it unfairly.
ReplyDeleteAfter talking with some friends of mine, some who are prescribed adderral and some who aren't but still take it, I don't know if I see it as cheating. While it might seem to give some people who don't take it an unfair advantage, it really isn't. These people don't take it for a reason and that's because they don't need it. They already are able to focus and even if they were to take adderral, it wouldn't give them any extra ability. I think there is a common misconception about the actual effects of adderral. Many people think that taking it gives them some sort of super ability to focus and do work faster, however, this is not the case. It also could actually hurt studying instead of helping. I've heard of cases of people who instead of studying after taking it, start focusing more on what they were doing as they start to feel the effects. Then it makes it harder to break away from these tasks, and start studying, because they are focused on these other things.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that taking Adderall and other mind stimulating drugs can be considered a form of cheating. Ever since junior year of high school when my friends started taking this drug to improve their scores on the SAT, I always felt as if I was being selected against and those who were taking these drugs when they were not necessary for medical reasons had an unfair advantage. I think your parallel to doping is extremely accurate. Sports players who use steroids to improve their muscles and playing ability obviously have an unfair advantage over those who do not take these drugs. They might not have to spend as much time keeping their body in shape whereas clean players do. The basis of sports is that there are rules set in place to ensure everyone has equal opportunity on the playing field. However, by taking Adderall or steroids, that makes the playing field uneven, allowing some people to cheat. Because I consider Adderall being taken by people not medically prescribed for it to be a form of cheating, I think taking Adderall for exams, etc. should have consequences.
ReplyDeleteBrigitte,
ReplyDeleteI feel as though taking adderall is a form of cheating, but it also may have negative effects on the person who is taking it. As you stated, adderall is a way in which students can cram at the last minute, or perform long assignments with little distractions, but does adderall cause little distractions? I have talked to friends about adderall and they have given me fore-warnings about the magic of adderall. They have said they have unknowingly wandered on facebook or other websites for hours at end without recollection. This is why I fear users miscalculate the complete advantages of adderall, but I also feel as though the advantages outweigh the disadvantages
-Jon Hanson
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think that using adderall, if unnecessary, is definitely a form of cheating. One of the main effects of adderall is the ability to go hours and hours without sleeping. I think that this is the main advantage that students who take adderall (who do not have ADHD or any other similar learning disability) have over students that do not. For me to perform well on a test, the most important thing that I do is get a good night's sleep so that I can be nice and awake during an exam. For students that take adderall, they are able to have this feeling without sleeping. Therefore, they have all of those extra hours to study and work hard while still performing at an adequate level. Therefore, I would compare taking adderall before a test to doping in sports. I think both are equally wrong and unfair and should not be done. At the same time, if someone needs to take these medicines and a doctor prescribes it to them, I would not consider that cheating. However, recreational uses of these drugs is not right.
ReplyDelete-Emma Kessler
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleterigette, I am really interested in your post about adderall possibly being a form of cheating in the game of school. I certainly agree with most of your arguments, especially when you describe the amount of time one student has to put into their work to succeed, while another student can receive the same grade without much work at all, but just by popping a pill. However, I want to play devils advocate as some of the other comments on this post have done. The reason adderall is used in the market today is to help people who suffer from ADHD. I have studied ADHD a lot recently in my psychology classes and the extreme impairments and consequences that people suffer from this disorder is devastating. With that being said, the most effective treatment that has been empirically proved for ADHD is the use of stimulant medication. For those who have ADHD, stimulant medication such as adderall actually helps relax them and keep them focused, not so much acting like a boost of energy, which those who don't need the drug feel when they take it. Additionally, I think an interesting point to be brought up that applies to what you were saying about college students taking adderall, is the possibility of such abuse in tainting the real purpose of this medication. It is evident that many people see those who take adderall as "cheaters," yet what happens to those students diagnosed with ADHD who truly need adderall to go about their daily tasks, to be "normal" like everyone else? I think it is important that we take a step back and think about this controversial issue because when we make dispositional accusations to those who use this medication, we also start to downgrade the importance of this drug for those who really do need it.
ReplyDeleteWith all that being said, I think another interesting topic to be discussed is the shortage of adderall and the importance it has taken both financially and socially in our society. Here is a link to an interesting article from ABC News that talks about the issue of adderall shortage and the government's response to it, so read it if you are interested!
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/01/03/adderall-drug-shortage-will-continue-in-2012-government-officials-say/
By: Taylor Rothman
This blog post definitely put an interesting spin on my view of taking Adderall before an exam, or before writing a paper in order to complete it on time. Maybe it's just the people I find myself surrounded by, but I've found that here at U of M, and even in high school, taking Adderall to enhance focus is an extremely common thing. While I do believe that taking Adderall definitely "changes the game," so to speak, I do not believe it is significant enough to consider the work being done while taking the pill to be cheating. After all, Adderall does not improve performance, or allow information to be stored more easily, rather it enhances focus and allows the user to concentrate on their assignments without being distracted. It does not make the user more smart or more prepared for an exam, and it doesn't give them a higher advantage of scoring higher. While I understand where you are coming from, since Adderall changes the focus of the person, commonly used products such as coffee and Red Bull may allow them to do the same thing- and the use of those wouldn't be considered cheating or doping at all.
ReplyDeleteAmanda Schmerin
I don't think taking Adderall is a form of cheating. Many people are required to take it as a prescription. I know your argument is against those don't have it prescribed and who use it to focus and concentrate for a longer period of time, but many have it as a prescription. More people than you think use it because they need it. Adderall doesn't make you smarter or make your work better. It makes you more focuses and more into getting the work you want to get done quicker. Some people have a hard time sitting down and doing their work without distractions. Taking adderall can help them sit down and get the already piled up work I'm sure they have. Those who work on an essay weeks in advance will most likely get a better grade than the person who does it the night before; adderall doesn't make your paper better.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteToday we live in a society where everyone claims to have some mild form of ADD, even those who would never actually be diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder. In fact, it is probably due to the multiple forms of communication that we are confronted with any given moment in time. Realistically what college student doesn't do their course readings while texting, watching television, and periodically checking their Facebook page as well? While all of us unprescribed students still may think we need adderall, the fact that only some people take it makes me question its fairness. Taking this drug puts people on an uneven playing field, just as steroids give athletes an unfair advantage. While I do agree with previous posts that Aderall cannot actually make you smarter, it still does enhance peoples' performance by allowing them to focus for longer. Therefore, I do believe that taking Adderall when not prescribed is very similar to cheating or doping.
ReplyDelete- Mallory Harwood
The Magic Circle
This is a great topic to bring up. I have never taken Aderall, yet am probably the only one out of my friends who hasn't. I am worried about becoming reliant on it, and somewhat considering it cheating too. Our society has made students, especially college students, think that without Aderall they won't be able to study. Most of these students did extremely well in high school without, which is what I think is interesting.
ReplyDeleteIf a student IS prescribed by a doctor and genuinely needs it, then I am not one to say that they shouldn't take it. My sister has ADD and uses it daily, but she also needs it. The whole aspect of abusing it is what I think is wrong. Using is when not needing it, is similar to cheating.
-Claudia Scheinman
I personally do not think that aderall is a form of cheating. In your post you say that taking adderall allows you not to try, and or study. That is completely false. I agree that taking aderall enhances your ability to focus, but it is ridiculous to think that you become smarter after taking the pill. You still have to go to the library for countless hours, and study the material the same way as if you did not take the pill. The main difference is that while your at the library you utilize your time better, and are able to focus easier.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that a lot of people are prescribed, and there is no problem with that. There are many people that truly need the drug to focus, and we should be happy that this drug exist for these people. I also believe that there a lot of people that aren't prescribed for numerous reasons, who still would benefit from the drug. These are the people that are looked as cheaters. I personally think that these people are not very different from the prescribed student. Both of them have trouble focusing, and by taking the drug they are able to complete their work in a timely fashion. They still have to go to the library and put in the hours, but now because of this drug they are able to be efficient while studying.
I think it is definitely cheating. There are people who clearly do not need it but know that it will just enhance their already more than adequate intelligence. If students know if they take adderall, they will get an A as opposed to an A-, many will choose to take adderall because they know it will increase their ability to focus and study and recall. It's not fair the the other students who just choose to study hard and will end up on the other end of the curve because they chose not to cheat. There is no one telling students taking adderall is wrong and many students have convinced themselves that it is not cheating and there is no harm in using it. Last time I checked, taking prescription only drugs when they aren't prescribed to you isn't recommended by anyone with a pulse. The only people who take adderall are the ones who truly need it. It makes a mockery of people who actually need the drug because many people fake the symptoms just to get a bottle. Adderall usage in college really shows the darker side higher education
ReplyDeleteBuy Pain Medications online now at discounted prices No need for a prescription
ReplyDeleteFDA : APPROVED, 100% Annonymous delivery(NO PRESCRIPTION NEEDED)
-Overnight shipping with a tracking number provided for your shipment(Fast,safe and reliable delivery).-We SHIP WORLDWIDE !! Our delivery is very discreet safe,reliable and have always been successful. Order from us Today and get a free delivery.
We are legitimate suppliers of pain medications we sell legit pain medications,We ship to several locations discreetly and all our deliveries are safe. Try our services and i am sure you will be back for more, you can place your order in any of the contact methods below. A customer service will be always ready to talk to you.
shopmeds76@gmail.com
Skype: Hernandez.meds
whatsapp +1559-425-9026
Buy Pain Pills, Buy pain relief medications, buy depression pills, buy anxiety stress pills
Meds Shop