What is cheating? How do you define it?
If you think it means looking at a test that belongs to another student and copying down exactly what they wrote down word for word, then cheating is just plagiarism. If cheating is the same as someone giving you an old paper, and you using similar content in your own paper, then cheating is just a New Age version of the “Monomyth” (the idea twhat all epic stories are based on the same structure). But what about study drugs? Is that cheating? Are they brain steroids, or are they just a way for you to stay focused the night before while you’re cramming all that information in your head prior to the test?
I think that cheating has to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis when it comes to borrowing papers or “working together” too much, but the idea that abuse of drugs like Adderall, Concerta and Vyvance is a form of cheating raises a more complex set of questions. I personally think that using study drugs is a fair move. In the same way that drinking coffee keeps you awake, study drugs keep you focused. It’s not like taking Adderall bolsters your IQ before a test, because the whole idea is you have to study for the study drugs to work. Therefore, you hold the information in your head, just like you would without study drugs.
Whether or not you agree with me, the numbers don’t lie, and 82 percent of all people reading this article have cheated at one point or another (according to Time magazine this past June). As to whether or not taking study drugs are considered cheating, 46 percent of students don’t believe it is, 35 percent think it is and another 19 percent aren’t entirely sure what they think of it. Regardless of what anyone says is cheating or not, 69 percent of students have used study drugs to write an essay, and 66 percent of students have used them to cram for tests. The interesting part of the article (which is particularly relevant to DePauw) comes from the fact that students become twice as likely to take study drugs when you are a member of a Greek organization, which 67 percent of all DePauw students are.
I’m not necessarily condoning buying and abusing prescription drugs. But a lot of people do it, and statistically speaking, it’s very likely that most people do it on DePauw’s campus. So is it a morally sound thing to do? I believe so.
-Jackson is a sophomore English Writing major from Cloverdale, Indiana.