THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2014
Volume 95, Issue 13
Taking ‘the study drug’
Smoking reduced but still prevalent University officials acknowledge ban still has a way to go DAVID COATS Daily Titan
she slumped out of bed and walked to her medicine cabinet. Brittney quickly removed an Adderall tablet from the bottle. She knew taking it would mean she would be on the “Adderall clock” and she expected to be up for the next 24 hours.
Since the implementation of Cal State Fullerton’s smoking ban last summer, university officials said the amount of smoking on campus has been “significantly reduced,” but they acknowledged that there is still more to be done. One unintended consequence of the smoking ban and subsequent removal of ashtrays around campus seems to be a fair amount of cigarette butt litter in planters, parking lots, outside buildings, on walkways and, ironically enough, near “no smoking” signs. The smoking ban prohibits smoking in buildings, parking structures and all outdoor areas owned, leased or rented by the university. But the policy has not put a complete stop to smoking on campus. A casual stroll around the school reveals there are still plenty of people lighting up or taking drags off of their electronic cigarettes or vaporizer pens, which are also banned by the policy. “There is still much education to be done and additional methods to reduce and eliminate smoking on campus will be reviewed and discussed as the implementation proceeds,” said Curtis Plotkin, director of Environmental Health and Safety at CSUF. Dean of Students Tonantzin Oseguera, Ph.D., said overall, students have had a positive reaction to the smoking restrictions.
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A CSUF student shares what it’s like to take Adderall ASHLEY RUIZ For the Daily Titan
After taking a 10-page test and talking to her doctor, the appointment reaches a close. “I can’t focus on anything but the clock that’s hung up on the wall staring back at me, ticking away,” Brittney said to her doctor. “I feel like there is a skeleton inside my body desperately trying to get out. I’m antsy, I can’t focus and before I know it, the class is over and I feel a whelm of anxiety come over me because I wasn’t able to retain any information.” The doctor diagnoses Brittney with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and prescribes her Adderall XR extended-release capsules. The 18-year-old high school senior feels pleased as she leaves the doctor’s office, her prescription, like a freshly won, gold trophy, in hand. However, Brittney, now a senior at Cal State Fullerton, does not have ADHD. She made up a story to get the prescription. Before visiting her doctor, Brittney’s interest in Adderall began after she heard friends and classmates talk about how the pill results in increased productivity. Eventually, she bought a pill from a classmate and felt her energy level rise. When a classmate charged Brittney $10 for a pill, she paid it. After hearing that she paid too
“The 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that 15 percent of college students admitted to using some form of psychotherapeutic drugs for non-medical use.” much for the normally inexpensive drug, Brittney decided to get a prescription of her own. Adderall is an amphetamine that can result in the release of neurotransmitters that activate sensory regions throughout the nervous system and cause feelings of euphoria, insomnia, increased alertness, and sometimes, anxiety.
MIKE TRUJILLO / Daily Titan Four percent of students said prescription “study drugs” such as Adderall or Ritalin are among the most popular drugs on the CSUF campus, according to CollegeProwler.com.
Brittney recalled, throughout several of her experiences with the drug, feeling each one of these senses at some point. Upon her first try, she got some homework done and cleaned her entire house. Excited from the productive buzz the pill created, she sought after more. “I did it (Adderall) more during my first few years
of college,” Brittney said. “College is a hell of a lot more work than high school. High school was a joke.” However, four months ago, Brittney woke up feeling helpless. Her to-do list seemed endless. A messy house, errands to run and homework that she did not understand. Completely unmotivated,
CSUF professor goes from the court to the classroom Michael Milligan translates his NBA skills to his teaching JOHNNY NAVARRETTE Daily Titan
Behind every successful team, there is a coach pushing the team to be the best. For students of the Mihaylo College of Business and Economics, their “coach” is professor and former NBA player Michael Milligan. Since arriving at Cal State Fullerton in 2005, Milligan has provided students with a teaching style that originated from his days as a basketball player. Milligan was drafted to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA) by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1983. Although he said his time in the NBA was
incomparable to anything he experienced before, it was his high school basketball training that made him the individual he is today. A product of Long Island Lutheran High School in New York, Milligan’s reputation among his peers is an impressive one. Milligan said people consider him to be one of the greatest players from New York, but he doesn’t think that. “I consider the fact that I probably had the greatest high school coach to come out of the state of New York,” Milligan said. “So I’m a byproduct of a great coach with a great system.” Milligan said his coach, Rev. Ed Visscher, was an innovative individual who prepared him and his teammates for what was after high school. “The thing that
separated us was that all of us were ready to play college basketball when we got to college,” Milligan said. “I’m not talking about just being on the team, most of us went to college starting freshman year.” Without noticing it at first, Milligan said he realized the lessons and philosophy he learned from Visscher shaped him into the professor he is today. “As a teacher, as a person, you measure success by how many people’s lives you touch,” he said. “If God has given me this knowledge and ability, not for me to put a hold and bare, sit on it and so, this is my own belief–that you share it.” As a college student, Milligan would often analyze the teaching style of his professors. His opinion was not
about his teachers being right or wrong, but simply preference and that everyone has a way of doing things. “I just kind of said if I ever taught, I would do it this way and say it this way,” Milligan said. “My goal has always been that students should get it.” Over his 10-year career as a professor, Milligan has been able to inf luence his students. Joshua Jones, 20, was a student in Milligan’s corporate finance class. “He was very straight forward,” he said. “It was a tough class, but I learned a lot.” Although Jones does not have Milligan as a professor this semester, he learned a valuable lesson from the course, among other things.
INSIDE IT’S UP TO US Rep. Ed Royce and Provost Jose Cruz, Ph.D., join students voicing concerns on debt NEWS 3 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @DAILY_TITAN
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AMANDA SHARP / Daily Titan Cal State Fullerton finance professor Michael Milligan founded the Applied Securities Analysis Program on campus.
POSTSEASON Titan ice hockey has earned its first trip to the ACHA West Regionals Tournament SPORTS 8 VISIT US AT: DAILYTITAN.COM