THE Vol.90 Issue 14
Q
UADRANGLE A Student Publication of Manhattan College Since 1924
Dec. 2, 2014
www.mcquad.org
s l a n i F e h T e u s s I k e We
During Finals, Students Feel Effects of Lack of Sleep Cara Ledwidge Senior Writer
Christian Roodal/The Quadrangle
Students rely on caffeine, and sometimes energy drinks, to get through final exams.
Putting it Off: Procrastination by Students at Manhattan College Kieran Rock
Asst. Features Editor Finals week can be the most stressful time of the semester. Not only because of the exams we are taking, but all of the work students have put off. That’s right, with only two weeks left in the semester it’s the time of the year when MC students scramble to finish their papers and hand in their homework, no matter how late they have to stay in the library. Procrastination is undoubtedly the biggest hindrance to a college student’s grades and time management skills. According to an article published in The Guardian, “Procrastination is the disease eating away at student productivity – and with exam season upon us, we’re facing an epidemic. An American study estimates that over 70 percent of students “exhibit [this] behaviour”.”
The problem can be seen on the Manhattan College campus. Sophomore Alexandra Frederick says that the internet is her biggest hindrance when facing a difficult work load. “I procrastinate the most by going online and looking at all of my social networks multiple times, regardless of their changes, or lack of,” she said. “I had to get the ‘self control’ app to concentrate.” Frederick is not the only one who is being distracted by her computer. Senior Alexandra Brunetti finds herself online shopping when it comes time to work. “I do pretty much everything [to procrastinate]” Brunetti said. “I’m a huge candle addict, so I am always looking for a new candle,” she said. “Or plane tickets, or clothes,” she said. “Sometimes I’ll just complain about the work, or clean my room, or go to my friend’s room.” Sophomore Jill Magenta finds her phone more distracting than the internet. “I
call people a lot when I’m trying to procrastinate.” In order to stop the distraction, Magenta puts he phone on the other side of the room. “Sometimes my friends and I will take each other’s phones when we are doing work,” Magenta said. Regardless of the distractor, procrastination is a huge reason that stress goes up during finals week. While the easy solution is to make sure that each semester students follow the syllabus closely and stay caught up with the work, that is almost never the reality. Most of the time it simply comes down to running out of time that forces students to do their work. “For example I have a 30 page paper due Thursday,” Brunetti said. “When I get down to the wire and I really need to get the work done, the time crunch really makes me do it.”
treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy, a sleep disorder. It states that “the combination of dextroamphetamine and amphetamine is in a class of medications called central nervous system stimulants. It works by changing the amounts of certain natural substances in the brain.” The Drug Enforcement Administration’s publication Drugs of Abuse states that “amphetamines can look like pills or powder. Common prescription amphetamines include methylphenidate (Ritalin or Ritalin SR), amphetamine and dextroamphetamine (Adderall) and dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine).”
illicit Adderall usage regarding Manhattan College students. But, national studies find that abuse is rampant on college campuses across the country. A study titled Nonmedical Use of Prescription Stimulants During College: Four-Year Trends in Exposure Opportunity, Use, Motives, and Sources was published in the Journal of American College Health in 2012. The study states that “almost two-thirds (61.8%) were offered prescription stimulants for nonmedical use by Year 4, and (31.0%) used.”
Finals week is around the corner and Manhattan College students’ sleeping habits are about to change. Some students have never taken finals before. Others are taking their last round of finals this semester. No matter which end of the experience spectrum a student falls under, their sleep schedule will suffer according to statistics gathered from students across the country. According to the American Academy of Sleep Deprivation, “students may perform better if they close their books early and get more sleep before and during exam week. Most adults need about seven to eight hours of sleep each night to feel alert and well rested. Teens need even more sleep, usually about nine hours or more,” which suggests that freshmen need even more sleep than their upperclassmen counterparts. Students on campus have access to resources like the Counseling Center or Health Services, but according to students, those services are not on their minds in regards to their sleeping habits during finals week. “I think I think I’ve been too busy studying to actually seek out these resources,” student Alyssa O’Braskin said. “They would probably be very useful, but I just honestly don’t have the time.” Some colleges use their campus resources similarly to warn students about the dangers of avoiding sleep in favor of studying during finals week, but student Kelly Cousins said that these efforts won’t change how students sleep during finals. “I definitely do not feel I have, over the past three years, developed habits that I’ll allow me a restful finals week. This is likely because I have always done the same thing during finals week, namely inadequate sleep and nutrition. This school is definitely not doing much to change this,” Cousins said. “What might help would be if freshman classes did more studying incorporated into the class. Realistically though, Continued on page 3
Demystifying Adderall: The ‘Study Drug’ College Students Take For a Better Grade Maya Astabie
Asst. Op/Ed Editor When multiple deadlines are approaching and stress levels are rising, many college students turn to Adderall, the prescription drug that is often referred to as the ‘study drug.’ The common belief is that the drug helps students focus with relatively few side effects which has led to high levels of Adderall abuse across the country and abuse on campus. What is Adderall? Medline, a website operated by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Heath states that Adderall is a combination of dextroamphetamine and amphetamine and it is used to
How Widely is Adderall Abused? There are not any specific statistics for
Why Do College Students Use Adderall? Many students use Adderall because they believe it will allow them to study longer, focus more and improve their overall performance in their classes.
Manhattan College associate professor of psychology Arno Kolz, Ph.D., requires students in one of his classes to write a paper on and debate about a controversial topic in psychology. Many students have written about Adderall and other stimulant drugs. He said that he has learned a lot about the matter over the years. “The motivation is that these are drugs designed to help people focus more and pay attention to help people with ADD and ADHD and so the belief is that it’ll help even quote-unquote normal people who don’t have those things focus, stay up, study more,” Kolz said. “The drugs are stimulants so the idea is that it helps you pull the all-nighter.” Junior biology major Giancarlo SchilContinued on page 3