In the past decade, an enormous number of college students have turned to study drugs as a remedy for their overwhelming workloads. Last February, the University’s Institutional Research Office surveyed 430 students, and found that 24 percent admitted to illegally using prescription drugs. Of those, roughly 16 percent admitted to using them between once a week and once every two weeks.
The financial crisis, falling admission rates at grad schools, and the dwindling job market have convinced many students that, despite their best efforts, the grades they garner will simply not be enough. It is a cardinal sign that our society has become too competitive when our students feel they need medication just to survive their studies.
American culture has always glorified success at any cost. Our most treasured institutions depend on the tenets of capitalism. In a country in which multi-millionaires are lauded as model citizens, restraint is small-minded and humility is quaint. Vince Lombardi famously summed it up when he said that “winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” Thoughts like these are especially prevalent on college campuses, where students are painfully aware that their performance could determine their career path. Many ambitious students, fearing potential failure, learn over the years to drive themselves into the ground. This creates an atmosphere of desperation at far too many universities.
To treat this desperation, the University offers us resources that may be just as effective as study drugs. Coffee at Pi Café is a viable alternative, in addition to being cheap and legal. The Writing and Math Workshops help students manage their studies. The Office of Behavioral Health and the student listening service, 8-to-8, provide counseling for students in need.
Our culture burdens students with a tremendous amount of stress. While the controversy over study drugs often centers on ethical and health concerns, the real issue at hand is a larger societal problem—one of which study drugs are merely another symptom. Students will no longer need study drugs when their country no longer rewards backbreaking, all-consuming work.
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