The Daily Reveille
Monday, November 25, 2013
Opinion
page 9
‘Academic doping’ is not a resonable solution NEUTRAL GROUND Eli Haddow Columnist Lance Armstrong, Alex Rodriguez and Mark McGwire are all pockmarks on our generation’s sports memories. But are we any better than they are? With finals week fast approaching, it will become tempting and irresistible to many to break the law and use unprescribed amphetamines like Adderall to enhance brain function and help them study. In reality, this is “academic doping.” It is a problem in colleges across the United States that, for now, is going relatively uncombatted by administrations and law enforcement. However, with the rise of drugs like Modafinil, there could be real changes in the way students use and hide their use of performance-enhancing study drugs. Modafinil — known as Provigil in the U.S. — is like Adderall. It increases the alertness of the user, but it is not an amphetamine. Users say that it makes previously mind-numbing tasks into veritable walks in the park.
One user told New York Magazine that the drug was like “The Wizard of Oz,” where everything that was black and white became colorful. The difference between Modafinil and drugs like Adderall is their prescribed uses. Adderall is meant to combat ADD and ADHD, but Modafinil was approved by the FDA to treat narcolepsy, a much more serious sleeping disorder. Its use has not fully proliferated to the college level yet, but in the fast-paced investment world of New York City, stockbrokers are ordering three-week supplies so that they can keep up with their work. People who had little motivation before are now kicking it in gear and grinding out work like it’s their job. This begs the question on whether we’ve become lazy or whether these drugs actually make a difference in the way we approach our work. If it’s the latter, then we are no better than the steroid users we admonish in the national media. If students are using study drugs to get ahead, then they are cheating themselves and everyone else into thinking they are capable of doing something that they are not. Amphetamines help students
stay up the night before a test to cram. But if we have to obtain prescription drugs just to stay awake the night before an exam, doesn’t that mean that we have not been able to manage our time well enough? Maybe we’re looking at this the wrong way. It all seems harmless now, but when Modafinil and its future versions reach campus in a large way, then there will be real questions as to what is fair and what is not. If there is a drug comparable to the one from the film “Limitless” floating around, how are we supposed to measure the actual merit of students? One answer is that we have no base merit anymore. That’s to say that we’ll all be tweaking on Modafinil. If we take away sobriety, then we are still on the same footing. But we could be facing a much bigger problem. What if our universities note that there is an unfair advantage given to those using the drugs? Does LSU become like Major League Baseball, where we have to give drug tests to prove that we are not cheating? It’s quite possible that with drugs like Modafinil, this may be the road we are heading down. The academic world has become
CHRISTOPHE ENAX / The Associated Press
Lance Armstrong (left) and Rinaldo Nocentini of Italy (right) climb July 11, 2009, toward Col de Port, France, during the 8th stage of the Tour de France.
so competitive that a school or government — after all, acquisition of prescription drugs is illegal — may have to come back in and level the playing field. This plan would, no doubt, undermine what trust remains between students and the administration. But with prescription drug use skyrocketing, they may have no choice but to curb student use. This is only, of course, if our generation continues to use narcolepsy medication to get
through daily tasks. You wouldn’t think we would need something so strong, and there’s always the possibility that we give it up. But the odds are against us. Eli Haddow is a 20-year-old English and history junior from New Orleans. Contact Eli Haddow at ehaddow@lsureveille.com; Twitter: @Haddow_TDR
Students should support efforts of Walmart workers Mr. Fini Joshua Hajiakbarifini Columnist This Thursday, we will chow down on turkey and drink enough beer to ignore our problems. While we enjoy the riches of the holidays, many at Walmart won’t be having much to be thankful for. Recently, there was a food drive at an Ohio Walmart for
the store’s employees to enjoy Thanksgiving. Nothing says “not paid enough” like a food drive for employees at the workplace. On top of that, this Black Friday we all will be further exploiting these workers by participating in one of the biggest shopping days of the year, and Walmart will be at the center of it. Many students can’t wait to take advantage of the Black Friday sales for an Xbox One, PS4, computer, or video game. While we may want to go make our
Jae C. Hong / The Associated Press
A protester chants her slogans as she is taken into custody after participating in a protest outside the new Chinatown Walmart store on Nov. 7 in Los Angeles.
purchases, we all need to take a moment and think about the millions of people who work at Walmart and are not paid a livable wage. Students should stand in solidarity for the workers of Walmart who need and deserve a livable wage by supporting minimum wage increasing efforts in the state. Walmart is not only the largest retailer on earth, but the largest company in the world in terms of revenue and employment. Last year, Walmart’s revenue was $469 billion, while their labor force was around 2.2 million. With revenues that high, it is a wonder why they cannot raise the wages of their employees. Today more than half the company is still owned by the six heirs of the Walton family, whose combined net worth is more than $150 billion. This means they have more wealth than the bottom 30 percent of Americans, yet they don’t want to pay their 2.2 million employees a livable wage. Last year, hundreds of Walmart employees across many stores went on strike on Black Friday and received the support of unions and Occupy Wall Street. Although the strike itself didn’t amount to many nominal benefits, it sparked a movement across the nation for minimum
wage increases. A few months ago, the movement spilled over into fast food restaurants including McDonald’s, which faced walk-outs and strikes by employees seeking higher wage. Meanwhile several states raised minimum wages this year due to activism and ballot initiatives. Earlier this month, voters in New Jersey voted to increase their minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.25 per hour. On the other side of the country, voters in Washington made their state the highest minimum wage state in the country at $9.32 per hour. On top of that, Seattle elected its first openly Marxist Socialist to the city council on a platform to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. The biggest sign of change came from the top office of the land. President Barack Obama mentioned in his State of the Union address that minimum wage should reach $9 per hour. This is an important step for the federal government to take. Recently there was a press conference of Walmart workers, labor leaders, and community organizers who called for a large mobilization of workers to strike on Black Friday. The President of the AFL-CIO Richard Trumka stated that Walmart employees can count on the support of millions of
union workers. Walmart’s wages and work conditions are so poor that 70 percent of its workers leave within their first year. This turnover rate protects Walmart from their workers unionizing. Walmart is known for being anti-union for obvious reasons. Since the manufacturing industry had been chopped up and sent overseas in 1980s, the unions of the country have lost a lot of their power and influence. The only major industry left that can’t be shipped overseas is the retail industry. If the workers of Walmart are able to unionize, it will be a game changer for not just the retail industry but for the service sector. So for this break, students should start supporting the efforts of workers at Walmart in getting a living wage and unionizing. The standard of living for the working poor hasn’t risen in 30 years, and it’s time for a change. Joshua Hajiakbarifini is a 24-year-old political science and economics senior from Baton Rouge.
Contact Joshua Hajiakbarifini at jhajiakbarifini@lsureveille.com; Twitter: @JoshuaFini