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The Dartmouth
July 11, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Coffey: Honestly Cheating

Currently, amphetamine use falls under the College's general drug and alcohol policy, making Adderall usage equivalent to that of other recreational drugs. The honor code states that it is the responsibility of all students to conduct themselves with "honesty and integrity in the performance of academic assignments," but it mentions no specific restrictions on illicit study aides. In the eyes of the Honor Code, a student using Adderall to complete a paper or ace a final is still producing his or her own work.

From some perspectives, using Adderall is not nearly as dishonest as traditional cheating methods. After all, caffeine consumption also increases alertness and processing speed, and some studies (albeit funded by gum manufacturers) indicate that chewing gum may boost cognitive ability. But clearly, neither drinking caffeine nor chewing gum is considered cheating. Students with learning disabilities can overcome disadvantages with the help of extra time or even Adderall, but taking Adderall without true need devalues the challenges people with ADHD face and is equivalent to landing extra time without justification.

As tiresome as the sports analogy may be, the comparison between steroids and amphetamines shows Adderall for what it really is: a mental steroid. In sports, performance-enhancing drugs are clearly unacceptable. Common sense validates our feelings of betrayal when competitors use illegal substances to perform above their normal athletic ability. So why are substances that boost academic ability not equally demonized? It certainly is not because the scholarly world is indifferent to cheating. Freshmen are required to read Dartmouth's "Sources and Citations" document to prevent plagiarism, and Harvard University's cheating scandal last spring caused widespread uproar and embarrassment.

Dartmouth's policy toward substance abuse for athletic advantage is much stricter than the school's position on study drug use. According to Dartmouth's Student-Athlete Planner, the athletic equivalent of the Student Handbook, athletes are expected to comply with NCAA drug testing policies, and the use of drugs to enhance athletic performance clearly violates honorable conduct. Even athletes who legitimately use prescription steroids are required to note this fact on all medical records to not confuse drug tests.

The list of banned substances for athletes includes not only a compilation of various steroids, but also a category labeled "stimulants." Adderall, being a stimulant, is prohibited in sports but ignored in academic environments. If the College is serious about adhering to integrity, it should treat substance abuse for academic gain as a violation of honest standards of achievement.

To remove the double standard, the principles used in regulating athletic fairness should be extended to academic life, and drug use to enhance academic performance should equally qualify as a violation of the Honor Principle. It would not be reasonable to require that transcripts note whether a student has a prescription for ADHD medication. But for those using Adderall without a prescription, penalties similar to those for doping athletes might be justified.

Lance Armstrong's recent admission to using testosterone and growth hormones harshly illuminated the consequences of cheating. Using performance-enhancing drugs threatens to dethrone not only individual reputations, but also the school's achievements. Granted, it is extremely unlikely indeed, absurd that an asterisk would be placed after Dartmouth's U.S. News and World Report ranking or after the number of Dartmouth Rhodes Scholars as a result of Adderall abuse. Nonetheless, our school hardly needs a public image scandal.

While treating Adderall abuse as academic dishonesty is not guaranteed to curb the use of study drugs, it would correct the double standard between athletic and academic competition. Exploiting drugs for academic gain is equivalent to steroid use, and the College's academic honor principles should adapt to reflect this reality.