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DTH PHOTO ILLUSTRATION/KATE BLACKMAN
A poll by The Daily Tar Heel revealed that UNC students are among those using prescription drugs such as Adderall (above) as a study aid without a prescription.
SOME USING DRUGS AS
STUDY ‘CRUTCH’ AT UNC
DTH survey sheds light on use of prescription drugs to help academic performance
BY KELLY OCHS
STAFF WRITER
More than half of the UNC student
body gets a little bit of help plodding
through books, papers and exams.
According to a telephone survey con
ducted by The Daily Tar Heel, 54 per
cent of UNC students boost study time
energy with substances ranging from
caffeine to prescription drugs.
The vast majority of these students
rely on coffee or soda, but Claire, a UNC
senior, has found something that works
a little better than caffeine.
She uses Adderall, a drug common
ly prescribed for attention deficit disor
ders, when she has a lot of work to do.
The quality of the time she spends
studying is what matters, Claire said.
“Every second you’re looking at those
books, you have to make it count.”
She tried using caffeine to stay awake
while studying, but it made her jittery.
She said that when she takes Adderall,
she doesn’t have a reason to stop study
ing and isn’t distracted.
Adderall and Ritalin, both prescrip
tion drugs meant to treat Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, create
NCAA games to give
area financial boost
BY CHRIS COLETTA
ASSISTANT STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
As area basketball fans don their team’s
colors in preparation for the NCAA
Tournament, the city of Raleigh is making
March Madness plans of a different ilk.
N.C. State University and its home
arena, the RBC Center, are hosting first
and second-round games in the men’s
tournament, including at least one game
each involving Wake Forest and Duke
universities.
The matchups are expected to provide
a major financial windfall and a boost in
prestige for the city and the university,
particularly in an area known for its love
affair with college hoops.
“It’s March Madness,” said Charlie
Cobb, associate director of athletics and
external relations for NCSU’s
Department of Athletics and a leader in
the university’s tournament committee.
“It’s a major machine, and to be a part
of it in a unique way as we are... is obvi
ously a good way to highlight this area
and to highlight N.C. State.”
The university and its court aren’t the
only groups benefiting.
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an intense focus and aren’t hard to
come by on college campuses.
They are stimulants classified as
amphetamines, putting them in the
same category as speed.
Though some students have turned
to these drugs when studying, the
DTH’s survey shows that the majority
of UNC students do not rely on over
the-counter or prescription drugs as
study aids.
According to the survey, about 14
percent of students use over-the-count
er drugs such as caffeine pills while only
about 4 percent use prescription drugs
such as Adderall or Ritalin.
Of the 395 students randomly select
ed for the poll, only 19 reported using
prescription drugs as study aids. But
the study found that about 22 percent
of UNC students know somebody who
uses prescription drugs without a pre
scription when studying.
The poll, conducted between Feb. 2
and Feb. 6, has a margin of error of 5
percentage points, rendering the data
on prescription drug use statistically
insignificant: Use could be nonexistent
or as high as 9 percent.
Scott Dupree, director of sports mar
keting for the Greater Raleigh Convention
and Visitors Bureau, said that though it’s
hard to know exactly how much money
the tournament will bring in, he expects
visitors to spend between $2 million and
$3 million during their stay.
“We’re anticipating a major boost for
the economy,” he said. “This community
as a whole is big on bringing sporting
events to the area.”
The RBC Center will play host
Thursday to first-round games between
Florida and Manhattan, Wake Forest and
Virginia Commonwealth, Seton Hall and
Arizona, and Duke and Alabama State.
The winners of the last two games will
play in the second round at 1:10 p.m.
Saturday. The winners from the first
pairing will tip off a half-hour after the
first second-round game ends.
N.C. State and the RBC Center each
will receive 10 percent of all ticket sales
from this weekend’s six sold-out games in
Raleigh, a sum that Cobb said will total
about $200,000 per game.
SEE NCAA, PAGE 7
INSIDE
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Discover the origins of St. Patrick's Day
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www.dailytarheeX.com
Journalism Professor Robert
Stevenson, an expert in survey research,
said a 5 percent margin of error in a
survey of this size is not large.
Dan, a senior communication stud
ies major who has a prescription for
Adderall, said many people turn to
study aids to balance a foil schedule. He
said he does not take his medication
daily but has used it to help him study.
“I think a lot of people don’t know
how to (balance a foil schedule),” he
said. “It’s a crutch.”
Dan said his prescription provides
him with more pills than he can use
each month, so he sometimes gives
away or sells the extra pills, usually to
friends. If he sells the pills for $1 a
piece, he said, he still makes a profit.
“It’s money,” he said. “It’s money in
my pocket.”
Although he has used the prescrip
tion as an aid for studying, Dan said, he
is an advocate for a clean and healthy
lifestyle.
He said that even though students
are challenged in college with many
activities, it is possible to balance them.
Taking Adderall is a simple solution for
Talk stresses human rights
Stone Center presents
head of Global Rights
BY CAROLINE KORNEGAY
STAFF WRITER
The Sonja Hayes Stone Center for Black
Culture and History presented Tuesday
night Gay McDougall, executive director
for the international human rights organ
ization Global Rights, at the 10th annual
lecture honoring the late renowned UNC
scholar.
McDougall’s lecture, titled “Race and
Poverty: Critical Frontiers for Human
Rights Advocacy” was held in an almost full
Tate-Tumer-Kuralt auditorium and
focused on poverty, racism and gender dis
crimination in the United States and
around the globe. Stone’s father and son
attended the lecture.
McDougall stressed that there have
been hard-earned victories in the past
decade but said there have been some ter
rible losses as well.
Universality, equality, the rule of law,
women’s rights and social, economic and
cultural rights are the important lessons of
human rights advocacy, McDougall said.
“If 9-11 taught us anything, it is that
some students who become over
whelmed by high expectations, Dan
said.
Students who do use over-the-count
er or prescription drugs tend to employ
them most when studying for exams or
working on papers, according to the
DTH’s poll.
But some students say using the drug
for study purposes is the same as drug
abuse. A junior communication studies
major at UNC who has used Adderall
without a prescription for study pur
poses described it as a potential gate
way drug.
“If you abuse it, you’re likely to abuse
any other drug,” said the student, who
preferred to remain anonymous.
Abuse of prescription drugs has
become prevalent enough among youth
to attract the attention of MTV. “True
Life: I’m on Adderall” will premiere on
the cable network this spring.
“As always with ‘True Life,’ we try to
present topics that are relevant to our
audience,” stated Marshall Eisen,
supervising producer of the show, in an
SEE SURVEY, PAGE 7
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DTH/JUSTIN SMITH
Gay McDougall, executive director of the international human rights organization
Global Rights, delivers the 10th annual Sonja Hayes Stone Lecture on Tuesday.
each of us bears the responsibility to see
that this world turns out to be a just
world,” she said.
McDougall’s organization, Global
Rights, works in more than 22 countries.
She also serves as an independent expert
for the United Nations’ International
Convention on the Elimination of All
SPORTS
HOME RUN
IJNC improves its record to 9-1 after
handily defeating Princeton PAGE 4
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2004
Greeks see
decline in
numbers
Officials cite increased
number of student groups
BY CLAIRE DORRIER
STAFF WRITER
Greek officials say the increase in the number of
student organizations along with a decrease in reten
tion rates has caused membership in Greek organi
zations to decline during the past several years.
Greek Affairs recently released numbers that
show that 14 percent of UNC students held mem
bership in Greek organizations in 2003. Jay
Anhom, director of Greek Affairs, said this is lower
than past levels. He said that in the mid-19905, par
ticipation was around 18 percent.
He said he thinks the recent decline is due to the
vast array of options that are available for students
to get involved. “There are more than 500 student
organizations and only 50 Greek organizations,” he
said. “People don’t realize that by joining a Greek
organization you can do many of the same things
the other organizations do.”
Despite declining numbers in the Interff atemity
Council and the Panhellenic Council, the Greek
Alliance Council and the National Pan-Hellenic
Council have seen a large increase in membership.
Within the past two years membership grew from
75 members to 200 members, Anhom said.
IFC President Walker Rutherford said he
thought a reason for the decline in participation is
that members go inactive later in their academic
SEE GREEKS, PAGE 7
Rally unifies
party goals,
candidates
BY KELLI BORBET
STAFF WRITER
About 100 students attended a UNC College
Republicans rally Monday afternoon featuring
speeches from U.S. Rep. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and
N.C. Sen. Robert Pittenger, R-Mecklenberg.
Gubernatorial candidate Bill Cobey also was in
attendance.
Burr, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, said he was
glad to see a room full of loyal conservatives at a
place such as UNC, which he said was unlikely to
have a conservative rally.
During his speech, Burr emphasized the coun
try’s need to work cooperatively to ensure that
opportunities are as great for future generations as
they are today.
“Our country is at a crossroad,” he said.
Burr said his motive to attend the rally was not
only to increase support for his Senate campaign
but also to support President Bush.
Burr cited Bush’s ability to handle crisis situa
tions. He said Bush did what was right for the coun
try after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
“I’m proud of our president and his leadership,”
SEE RALLY, PAGE 7
Forms of Racial Discrimination.
“It’s a fascinating time to be working in
human rights,” McDougall said, noting the
potential for change.
Ethnic tensions, nationalism and reli
gious differences have widened the gap
SEE STONE, PAGE 7
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