Alcohol “crackdown” overblown
Dean of Students feels public perception is innaccurate
Patrick Stevenson
Editor-in-Chief
Despite public perception, Xavier is not enforcing alcohol policies more strictly
than last year, according to Dean of Students Dr. Luther Smith.
At least not yet.
“In the future, though not this academic year, I do believe we’re going to take more of an approach of holding people more accountable for underage consumption,” said Smith.
Smith hinted at one possible way that students could face disciplinary action for underage alcohol consumption.
“By federal law, we have the ability to contact parents on the first violation of underage consumption,” said Smith.
“We know underage students are going to consume alcohol, we’re not naïve. However, the law is the law.”
Smith also shot down several rumors that have been swirling around campus in regards to drinking.
“We’ve heard there’s a rumor that there’s a campaign to make Xavier a dry campus, and in no way, shape or form are we trying to do this,” said Smith.
There is nothing that I’m aware of we’re telling people of age they cannot consume alcohol,” said Smith.
Jordan Olinger, Co-President of Xavier’s Senior Board, the organization that oversees programming such as Senior Night at Dana Gardens and Senior Week, agreed that many unsubstantiated rumors are flying about campus.
“As of now, nothing has changed with the alcohol policy except the fact that we have to have police officers at all Senior Board events. Everything else must be rumors because I know nothing about them,” said Olinger.
Smith pointed out that Xavier has always mandated a campus police presence at any Xavier programming involving alcohol, with the one notable exception being Senior Night at Dana Gardens, as Cincinnati Police are present there.
Whether or not Xavier will require additional police presence at future Senior Nights has not yet been determined.
Smith expressed concern about the alcohol-centric nature of Senior Board programming.
“I’ve asked seniors whether they can have a successful event without alcohol, and some of them tell me they can’t, and I challenge that,” said Smith.
Despite what many students are hearing, Smith claims that Xavier has not been implementing an alcohol “crackdown” this year.
“We’re enforcing the existing alcohol policies more so than we have done in the past, but the policies themselves haven’t changed,” said Smith. “We are being more responsive to enforcing the policies this year than in years past.”
“I don’t think alcohol is more of an issue this year than it has been in the past, it’s always been an issue,” said Smith.
However, Smith left the door open for change in alcohol policies in the near future.
“I don’t believe the existing alcohol policies are being enforced more strictly this year, though I do anticipate this being the case in the future,” said Smith.
Prescribed abuse
As finals grow nearer, Adderall abuse among students is becoming a growing problem
Jeff McMurray
Feature News Editor
Your biology final is in eight hours, and you just started studying. You have to do well on the test. So what do you do? How do you stay awake?
For the past few years, students on college campuses have increased the use of the prescription drug Adderall. The stimulant gives students the “power to learn,” allowing one to stay up all night while studying. Additional uses for the drug include weight-loss as well as trying to stay awake during a night of heavy drinking.
The recreational use of this drug has become so standard that the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) has done research on the increasing “prescribed abuse.”
The research done by the NIDA has shown that the more competitive the college is, the higher the incidence of Adderall usage. A report that has been published by the NIDA stated the findings from a survey of thousands of college students. The study was conducted in April of 2006 and shows that 5.9 percent of recreational use is among the more competitive colleges compared to 1.3 percent use among less competitive colleges.
The study also found that white students were more likely to use Adderall at a rate of 4.9 percent while African-American students used it at a rate of 1.6 percent and Asian students at a rate of 1.5 percent.
When the study was broken down even further, the NIDA also found that students, who have grade point averages (GPAs) below a B, use Adderall to help them study at a rate of 5.2 percent and students with a GPA above a B use Adderall at a rate of 3.3 percent.
The survey also shows that students who are involved in a fraternity or sorority use Adderall at a rate of 8.6 percent while those who are not involved with Greek life use it at a rate of 3.3 percent.
The statistics found by the NIDA paints a sad but true picture of today’s college campuses. When talking to Xavier students who use the drug to help them study, you begin to see why.
“I have never been able to concentrate as well as I do when I take Adderall,” said a senior chemistry major who requested anonymity. “I get this tunnel vision that allows me to study even the most mundane material.”
Even though the material becomes easier to study, the worry now that students are forming a psychological dependence that can cause them to lose faith in their abilities. Students become so addicted to studying on Adderall that they cannot do any type of work without it.
When asked if he has a dependence on Adderall, the chemistry major had this to say, “I don’t feel like I have a dependence on it. I really only use it when either I have a big test the next day or when finals are approaching.”
The recreational use of Adderall may be increasing but where are the students getting the drug in the first place? Is it as easy to get a hold of as other drugs?
When asked these questions, a junior philosophy major, who also requested anonymity, said “At first it was kind of hard to get a hold of, but once I did find someone who would sell me some, I could get any whenever I needed it.”
The acquiring of Adderall might have been hard for her but for most everyone else who uses the drug recreationally, the source is usually a friend, a suite mate or the person who sits next to you class. The list of people who deal Adderall to those who are not prescribed the medicine goes on and on. Most people would be surprised to hear the number of people who deal their prescribed drugs to other people.
When speaking to a dealer, you get the sense that they are only doing it to make an extra buck, not trying to be a harden criminal. A junior business major, someone who is prescribed Adderall and sells it, had this to say: “I’m really only doing it to make some more money. Without selling it, I would be just another poor college student with ADD. Now I’m a college who has ADD and some money in his pocket.”
The business major had to stop and think when asked if he ever thought about getting in trouble for selling the drugs or even selling harder drugs such as pot or coke.
“You know, the thought has crossed my mind but I figure that if I only sell to people I know, I should be in the clear. As for the other drugs, I tried to sell pot once, but that go too tricky. So now I’m just sticking with selling my Adderall.”
What makes this such a hard subject to tackle is that the people who use the drug to help them, just like the dealers, they don’t think they are doing anything wrong. They think that if they just take it once, it’s not hurting anyone. They even think that this is just the “one” time they are taking the pill to help them. It is even worse to see someone use it all the time to help them study.
What’s even worse is that sometimes students don’t think their school is affected by such a problem. They have the mind set that every student at that school is clean and don’t use something to help them study.
Many people even think that Xavier is immune to something of this nature because we are such a small campus but as you can see, it affects all colleges. Everyday, more and more students are using the drug and staying focused. The cost doesn’t matter to them, only the grade.
So the next time you see that person next to you library at two all focused, don’t ask how he can do it, you probably already know the answer.
John LaFollette
Editor-in-Chief
Rachel Peters
Ann Tassone
Darren LaCour
Senior News Editors
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