The Collegian

Issue date: 4/28/09 Section: Opinion

In this week's issue of The New Yorker, journalist Margaret Talbot investigated the world of high-school and undergraduate students who are healthy, but take what she calls "neuro-enhancers," drugs commonly prescribed for A.D.D. such as Ritalin. With these, students seek an edge to grind out long hours to produce quality class work. However, she finds that often times students take these not to be at the top of the class but to basically do everything needed to be considered a well-rounded student. Due to pressures for students to do a lot in little time and to succeed, students will continue to rely on these drugs, and it could only increase in the future.

College undergrads are under pressure to do well, but to also network, find good jobs, and prepare for graduate school The stress often further compounds when students want to incorporate having a social life while balancing writing papers, running clubs and working. All these pressures and demands of students lives raises many questions. Have students' lives today become excessive? Have expectations for success grown too high? What does that mean for their futures?

The ethical arguments on both sides for and against have some valid points. Those for their use say it is no different than using a chemical to enhance the mind like using caffeine to stay awake, and they discredit the term "brain-steroids" because they say that implies using artificial means to increase brain-power, instead claiming it just maximizes the potential already present within the mind. Those against it equate it with cheating saying that taking it before a test is like athletes doping before a game.

The most interesting point was those concerned that in the future parents who want their children to have any edge possible might encourage them to take neuro-enhancers, or adults could feel pressured to maximize output at work and earn more money. This may be possible, because looking back at high school, it was hard not to envy the students who partied every weekend, maintained a 4.0 GPA, took AP classes, played a sport and had their choice of Ivy League schools. If the future involves the same pressures we experience today to succeed, feeling the need to take these neuro-enhancers further emphasizes that pressure to work so hard and not sleep enough. Not every student can balance all these factors and still do their best.

I wonder what the future looks like for students with this issue. However with all the pressures students face today, we will only see the need to find outside resources like neuro-enhancers increases as time goes on.

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