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Most popular drug on campus: Does caffeine top ranks?
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by Jason Engelhart
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Since the fall of 2001, the word "alcohol" has appeared in 1,157 articles in this newspaper. During the same time period, "caffeine" was mentioned a mere 32 times.
Statistics like this one highlight the common misconception that alcohol is the most popular drug on campus. If I were caffeine, I would be outraged.
There are many reasons to believe that caffeine deserves the title of most popular drug on campus. While most students do not drink alcohol more than two times a week, it is not rare at all for a student to make daily stops at one of the downtown area's many coffeehouses. Furthermore, aside from football Saturdays and the Mifflin Street Block Party, most students limit their consumption of alcohol to the evening hours. Caffeine, on the other hand, is an all-day drug; it revives students in the nick of time for their 8:50 lectures and gives them the strength they need to continue writing papers at 3 a.m. It seems very unjust for the public to ignore caffeine's influence in light of the many signs of its popularity.
That is not to say, however, that caffeine is the most widely abused drug at UW. The recent rise in detox conveyances and the implementation of the new "show and blow" policy at Camp Randall show that binge drinking of alcohol, not coffee, is a cause for concern for the administration. And although the coffee cups that litter UW's lecture halls and libraries are evidence that caffeine addiction is widespread, alcoholism presents a much greater danger for students, faculty and staff.
In fact, one reason for caffeine's success on campus and around the world may be because it is so benign. There are no cases in recorded history of coffee tearing apart a family or making someone lose his or her job. Medical authorities agree that moderate caffeine consumption — 200 to 300 milligrams, or two to three cups of coffee per day — is perfectly safe for most people.
One of the reasons caffeine is such a safe drug is that it is self-regulating. If a person consumes too much caffeine, he or she is liable to become jittery, irritable and nervous. As anybody who has ever been in Qdoba at 2:30 a.m. knows, alcohol does not have such self-regulating properties. The beauty of caffeine's built-in support of moderation is that society can function perfectly well even if everyone is using the drug.
There are even some historians who believe caffeine has helped drive the development of society. Alan MacFarlane of Cambridge University, for example, argues that early 18th century Britain's taste for tea played a large part in the Industrial Revolution. According to MacFarlane, not only did the switch from beer to tea allow the country to kick its alcohol habit, but the caffeine in the tea also gave industrial laborers the energy for intense physical labor. However, caffeine provides more than just physical strength. "Tipping Point" author Malcolm Gladwell argues that coffee fueled intellectual movements as diverse as the Enlightenment, the Bolshevik Revolution and the Manhattan Project.
In spite of caffeine's positive influence on history, the drug is not without its dangers. An overdose of caffeine can result in insomnia, diarrhea, irregular heartbeat and a host of other side effects. It is also very easy to become dependent on caffeine and the withdrawal symptoms —headaches, irritability and a general perception that the world is not quite what it used to be — are quite unpleasant. Nevertheless, there is reason to believe that caffeine, when used in moderation, is a good influence on the people of Madison and the world.
Too many people, when they think of UW, consider only the effects of the second-most popular drug at this fine institution. They associate the campus culture with both pleasant carousing and dangerous binge drinking. If these individuals stopped to consider the university's first choice in drug, however, their perception of Madison might change. Alcohol may fuel the campus social life, but it is caffeine that gives Madison's students, faculty and staff the fuel for the fearless sifting, winnowing and filtering by which alone the truth can be found.
Anonymous (October 11, 2007 @ 8:52am):
Are you serious? Yeah! Let's be known for a school that drinks CAFFEINE! SOMEBODY, GRAB A PEPSI!
What a joke.....
-Slapps
Anonymous (October 11, 2007 @ 11:15am):
Yeah, it's much better to be known as a school of drunk morons.
-Slapps you
Anonymous (October 11, 2007 @ 12:27pm):
Most widely used drug on campus: adderall. True story, and definitely more interesting than caffeine.
Anonymous (October 11, 2007 @ 2:56pm):
Adderall, really? I wouldn't be too sure about that . . . I'm sure plenty of people use it, but it's a lot easier to stop at Steep & Brew than it is to get a script for amphetamines.
Slapps: you're a douche.
Steve Slapps (October 11, 2007 @ 3:34pm):
OK, you people go eat your soggy pickles and pick some apples while drinking an ice, cold pepsi. I'll be waiting at The Pub with an ice cold brew for ya......
Anonymous (October 25, 2007 @ 8:30am):
The Pube? Really? Not surprised...
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