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The harmful effects of steroid use

Though their

by Derek Ventura-Ly

Steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) are thought to be a thing of the past in high school and university athletics, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.

With regulation on the usage and acquisition of steroids becoming increasingly strict across the US over the last three decades, at first glance it appears implausible that a student could gain access to such illicit substances – and yet, they have.

Burnout culture: senioritis isn’t just for seniors anymore

by Madison Riggs

Head on desk, late to class, forgetting to send the “can I have an extension?” email at all: these are just some of the symptoms of burnout. It’s not just senioritis, and it’s not just for seniors.

Burnout. You’ve probably heard the word thrown around before, as people talk about grueling homework assignments or tough deadlines. But what actually is “burnout”? The American Psychological Association defines it as “physical, emotional, or mental exhaustion accompanied by decreased motivation, lowered performance, and negative attitudes toward oneself and others.”

But what does that mean on a personal level?

“The sense of dread where you’re like, damn it, it’s back again,” said Millie Lach (‘25).

AP Psychology teacher Ms. Jennifer Trichere said burnout happens “when it feels like there’s kind of an endless amount of stuff to get done, but you no longer have the energy to continue meeting all of those requirements … and when things become more of a task rather than something enjoyable, because you love what you’re doing.”

A lot of us – if not all of us – have probably felt some form of burnout. Whether it is dwindling motivation on a

Young adults and teenagers are obtaining anabolic steroids through misdiagnoses or by deceiving physicians, drug peddlers, relatives, or friends. Not only this, an online culture of fitness may be encouraging the use of steroids

Why would a student want to acquire steroids? What are the effects of steroids? Steroids and other PEDs like steroid precursors DHEA or SARMs, allow you to get stronger quicker, recover quicker, and develop muscle tissue quicker than the average person. This is extremely enticing to student athletes, particularly those who aspire to make a profession out of athletics and believe that these substances will give them an advantage over their competition. However, steroids have a number of negative side effects. Acne, mood swings or hostility, gynecomastia, baldness, and, in youth, premature closure of growth plates, slowing growth, are examples. Internal organ damage may occur over time, resulting in liver disease, heart disease, and even death.

Steroids and other PEDs have legiti- mate uses, such as assisting burn victims in their recovery, allowing transgender people to transition, treating a variety of diseases (Crohn’s disease, lupus, arthritis, and certain skin conditions), and aiding general function in older adults who have a declining amount of hormones required for general function. Individuals seeking a shortcut to strength, athleticism, and general muscle building in pursuit of accolades and competitive success have abused steroids, conversely. project we hit a rough spot on, or just a typical case of ‘the Mondays.’

This is not to imply that schools haven’t taken action. Steroid use in schools has declined from an all-time peak in the early 2000s. Many schools across the country have a zero-tolerance policy for student steroid use. In practice, how much of a difference does this make? Steroids appear to be difficult to detect because they might take the form of injectables, pills, syrups, nasal sprays, or gels. To test every single student athlete in a county for such substances when the problem only affects a few would be inefficient and a general waste of time and effort.

Not only would a student athlete want an advantage over their opponents; they are part of a culture that emphasizes achievement at all costs, and when paired with adolescent naivety, this encourages the greater usage of steroids in young athletes. Furthermore, this mentality is spread online through fitness communities on social media with their excessive expectations and standards, all of which are readily available to young, malleable, and impressionable minds. Through this, steroids are pushed as a shortcut, a way to attain superhuman strength, size, and a better appearance, completely ignoring what steroids could do to the developing body.

Steroids are not safe for students, let alone anyone, when used improperly. Though they provide an incredible increase in muscle development and general athleticism, is it worth the risk? Are these temporary gains worth the cost of your life?

But what about when burnout starts to become more prevalent? What if we feel burnt out Monday through Friday? This phenomenon is becoming all too present, both in and outside of Northwood.

“I feel like I get home and I need to do work, then I need to eat, so I don’t have time for myself. Then I have time for myself at 9 p.m., but by then I’m so tired and have to go to bed,” said sophomore Candia Melvin about her daily routine. Routines like these are something that seem to be appearing more and more. Beginning your day busy and not resting until you sleep. It’s the routines like these that seem to often drag people down, that lack of prioritization with yourself that causes the initial burnout.

But why do people feel the need to maintain extreme schedules like this?

For Melvin, the answer is about stress. “School puts so much stress on you, not just in the workload, but also just because everyone says you have to do well, you have to graduate, you have to get Honor Roll … it’s a lot, and sometimes students feel like failures if they don’t get an A or B … Get all your assignments in, get all your extracurriculars because you got to get into a good college.”

Ms. Trinchere also talked about what she has seen in students. Workload is a huge part of the problem. People speak to the constant stresses of work quite frequently, but a lot of the burnout also comes from the type of work being done.

“I feel fulfilled by my extracurricu- lars, [but] not really in school,” said Lach. She is one of many students who talked about sometimes missing the point of the work being done. However, this problem doesn’t stem entirely from school, as Ms. Trinchere mentions. “It is often a larger issue and not just school, but it all takes a big mental toll.”

Ms. Trinchere emphasizes the importance of managing one’s schedule, and making sure to prioritize yourself.

“Doing things such as, maximizing free time at school, like advisory periods. Something also really important is taking breaks for yourself. The work will never be completely done, so it’s so important to give yourself breaks to get your body ener gized to keep moving forward.” Lach also emphasizes the idea of self care. “I think by the end of the school year you’re gonna have a little bit of burnout just because of working constantly, but if you prioritize self care it won’t be as bad.”

So what’s the solution? Burnout is a problem that’s been around forever and won’t disappear anytime soon. But acknowledging a problem – really seeing what it is – as well as continuing to educate ourselves on it, can help us understand that it’s bigger than a personal failing, and ultimately help to prevent it.

Examining whether students’ workloads are appropriately balanced

WORKLOAD from Page 1 taking any class they personally find difficult. This is good, as students often associate the amount of homework with the difficulty of the class – the more homework, the harder it is, whereas little to none is considered “an easy A.” 31.4% of the surveyed students reported that they have zero hours of homework every night, often because they finish it in school or weren’t assigned any. The amount of time it takes to complete an assignment gives the individual assignments difficulty, which also makes the class feel difficult. Thankfully students have plenty of time to complete assignments, both in class and during other times of the day, as seen in Academic Support days or even the Homework Club.

But what classes are considered especially difficult? That really depends on the student’s abilities and what they’re taking. For example, Anj Cosby (‘23) is taking three college classes at MC. She says that “[professors] aren’t so friendly on accommodations or extensions … they’re more of ‘turn it in when you can, but put thought and effort into it,’ which was a contrast of what happened during quarantine, which was ‘50% off if [it’s] late.’”

But this pertains to college-level classes, which are understandably more challenging. What about high school-level classes?

You might be thinking that students consider AP classes the most difficult classes. In most cases, however, the results reveal something different. Again, each student decides whether a class is too difficult or too easy for them. It also matters in a completely different way, one aligning more with teachers’ concerns: procrastination. When a student procrastinates and does not do their work in class, the amount of work will naturally pile up, and that can change a student’s perspective of a class – all because they didn’t do what the course demands. Senior Ayantu Merga had a similar experience: “One time I could not finish my work, so the teacher gave extensions, but there were times that they wouldn’t. Also, sometimes I don’t ask because I don’t want to be a bother; I should have completed work on time.”

Merga brings up an interesting point: she didn’t ask for help because she didn’t want to be a bother. Many students internalized the belief that it’s wrong to be the first person to ask for help or show confusion, so we pretend as if we understand the material completely. This can lead to teachers thinking everyone is doing fine, which could result in more assignments, and the cycle continues. More students need to take action for others and themselves, and recognize they need academic support, because it’s not a bad thing, and the teachers are trying to help.

The teachers’ perspective on the matter is much different – they’re not trying to assign excessive assignments, but sometimes MCPS curricula require them to. Not everyone agrees with this. Media Center specialist Sarah Breslaw said that “you can’t have a policy like this without acknowledging that everyone is in a different situation and may need support rather than consequences.” She thinks we should work with students to understand their issues with attendance, because it might be a sign that something else is going on.

Furthermore, teachers have noticed that students can, have, and will procrastinate. When asked about her opinion on schoolwork, social studies teacher Ms. Anastasia Zahner credits the decision to use 50% instead of zero as a baseline grade as giving students “a false sense of their grades and their knowledge in classes.”

Ms. Zahner also believes that this issue was exacerbated by the return to in-person instruction from virtual learning. If students have an inaccurate understanding of what they have learned in a course, this will hurt them when it comes time for quizzes and tests.

“[If] you’re not actually learning ...

[t]hen when all of a sudden I slap a test in front of you in, let’s say, Algebra, and you’ve been skating by doing the bare minimum, you are never going to pass that test.”

Still, she is hopeful. “Students are now starting to understand again that you actually have to put effort in, and that starts to change what you’re learning because if you’re actually doing the daily work that teachers give you then you should be learning something.”

This brings us back to our original question: are teachers really being harsh in terms of amount of classwork? In all honesty, no; students need to take responsibility for their procrastination, and recognize when they actually need help from the teacher. In the words of science teacher Mr. Erol Miller, “[If] no one’s talking to me for help, I just assume you guys know what you’re doing.”

Northwood is meant to be a place where anyone can learn and succeed just like their peers. If a teacher is being too harsh in terms of classwork, then it’s either the MCPS policy or they just want you to pick up the pace a little. However, the situation might be different for everyone. In that case, whatever the solution, it’s clear that something might need to change so classwork can get done and students can pass a class and learn the material without added difficulties.