Dec Pg.1.Indd
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
VVolumeolume 7733 , IIssuessue 4 DDecemberecember 17,17, 20092009 Perfomance-enhancing drug invades campus BY JENNY LUONG According to PDR Health, Staff Writer Adderall, like all amphetamines, has a high potential for abuse. If At Cleveland High School, used in large doses over long pe- the illegal use of Adderall is not a riods of time, it can cause depen- means of getting high, but has be- dence and addiction. come a common study aide used The Food and Drug Admin- by students. istration places Adderall under a Adderall and its counterpart Schedule II pharmaceutical am- Ritalin are brand-name prescrip- phetamine, which compares it to tion medications that are used opium and cocaine because of its to treat narcolepsy and attention dangerous and highly addictive defi cit hyperactivity disorder qualities. (ADHD), but when abused in The anonymous male ex- various ways, they can lead to se- plained it has worked for him as a rious side effects. study drug. “Usually I can’t sit for According to recent studies fi ve hours studying, but on Ad- conducted by derall I can,” he the National said. The teen Center on Ad- claims he has photo by Haig Nalbandian diction and received good Taking Action: Youth organizer Alejandra Lemus (left ) and Seniors Melissa Lemus (center) and Diana Mauricio Substance grades on pre- (right) discuss ideas for the campaign against truancy tickets. Abuse at Co- vious tests that lumbia Uni- he has used Ad- versity, the derall to study Youth stand up against truancy tickets illegal use of for. Adderall by “Say I am BY JEILA SAIDI AND NOOR TELL students dur- on Adderall and Staff Writer and Editor-in-Chief ing the past photo illustratiom by Holland Mervis I’m studying— decades has drastically increased. and I get off track by a little, I’ll In the fi rst two months of munity Rights Campaign activists ticket only further burdens the Adderall is still fi rst and fore- start focusing on something else the school year, the Los Ange- are working to suspend the truan- family who already have fi nancial most used as a study drug because for hours, like playing games les School Police Department cy tickets. On September 28, they stresses,” Lemus said. it has the ability to enhance con- or going on Facebook,” he ex- (LASP) and Los Angeles Police petitioned downtown in front of In addition, the campaign is centration and provide focus for plained. Department (LAPD) have tick- the LAUSD School Board and re- aimed towards fi ghting for a zero long periods of time. Another Adderall user at eted 183 Cleveland High School ceived more than 300 signatures tolerance policy against unfairly One Cleveland male who be- Cleveland said, “You feel like students for being truant. and 500 phone calls with nega- targeting students of color. gan using Adderall in tenth grade concentrating on whatever you’re Truancy tickets are tickets tive responses to the motion. As “Racial profi ling is a great said he lied on an “ADHD test” doing.” given to students who are in vio- a result, Galatzan’s motion was part of it, and it wholly effects in order to receive prescriptions Yet for others, the effects of lation of the Los Angeles Munici- completely withdrawn. who they pick on,” Sophomore for the medication. At the time of Adderall are minimal. “It helps pal Code (LAMC) 45.04 which The members of the cam- and Taking Action member the test, he did not know anything me stay awake to study, but aca- states that students who are found paign are also working towards Khushboo Gulati said. Taking about the various uses of Adder- demically [Adderall] didn’t help outside of school from bell to decriminalizing truancy and to Action is a club that meets on all. much,” one female senior said. bell without a valid excuse will stop ticketing students who are campus every Friday to protest “I used to get these lines on She said she received Adder- receive a citation. Generally, stu- late or truant. According to youth against truancy tickets and raise the inside of my cheeks,” the all through her friends. She also dents must pay $250 to pay off the organizer Alejandra Lemus, tick- awareness regarding the issue. anonymous teen said, who took stated about fi ve out of ten of her ticket in addition to court fees. ets also makes for a hostile envi- Instead of tickets, they plan it regularly. “I stopped taking it friends used to regularly take Ad- Recently, LAUSD board ronment. to provide students with alterna- [everyday] and only take it when derall for tests, while now only member Tamar Galatzan pro- “We want to create a more tives, including offering that if I have a test.” two or three do.“It feels terrible posed a motion to expand the safe, healthy supportive learning a student is truant, he or she can Now, he takes Adderall about when you take it,” she said. “I truancy tickets to arrest students environment,” Lemus said. talk to counselors and psycholo- once a week. “When I have a only take it when I need to: for who are outside of their classes Tickets also put a fi nancial gists. test [the next day], I can’t study essay exams, fi nals or midterms.” after the bell has rung. This would strain on the families, especially “We are looking for proac- without Adderall. You get depen- “I took Adderall before I took entail the arrest of students who eighty percent of students in the tive measures,” Lemus said. “We dent.” the SAT,” a different Cleveland are not only outside of school, LAUSD who are Title I, meaning are looking at the roots to what “I found myself feeling smart male student added. He believes but who are not in their classes on their families have low income causes truancy and tardies.” and happy, intensely awake men- Adderall works for studying and campus too. and a fi nancial disadvantage. see ‘truancy tickets,’ tally, but physically tired,” he for focusing on a test as proven To combat this motion, Com- “A two hundred fi fty dollar page 4 said. by his 3.3 GPA. FallFall Fest FundraisingFundraising AutisticAutistic TeenTeen FrenzyFrenzy AtAt RisRiskk OvercomesOvercomes OpinionsOpinions NewsNews AdversityAdversity FeaturesFeatures PagePage 2 INSIDE PagePage 4 PagePage 8 2 Opinions Le Sabre December 17, 2009 No teachers, no education Staff Editorial BY MERY HOUNANIAN Copy Editor Furious fr om Fall Fest A twelve percent pay cut and shared commitments from part- furlough days are increasingly ners, including board members, more and more likely for Los unions, and the community, be- Fests to Journalism used to at school were able to make mon- we believe that the best alterna- Angeles Unifi ed School District ginning with the District’s com- be the highlight of the year – we ey to support themselves. How- tive for the Student Body and (LAUSD) teachers. Ramon C. mitment to look for new revenue sold Jamba Juice to the masses ever, with this 30 percent steal the clubs to make money is to Cortines, the Superintendent of sources and cost effi ciencies. The and made a ton of profi t in doing from our gross receipts, Journal- decrease the percentage taken to Schools recently wrote a letter to primary way they could raise new so. However, with all the fests ism along with other clubs made 10 percent. Another option is to LAUSD employees that details his funds would be through a voter- returning this year, the sacred a signifi cantly smaller profi t. take 30 percent from the net profi t plans for balancing the District’s approved, limited parcel tax of gorging-on-food-that-is-way-too- Furthermore, we would like gained after we pay back the three-year budget. The district is $100-200M where each property expensive day was completely ru- to know what this 30 percent cut company for the food they pro- short $1.2 billion over the next owner would pay $2-4 per week ined by the 30 percent the school is being used for. Will it ever come vided us with. For instance, in- two years, so Cortines is trying to to support LAUSD classrooms. took from our profi t. back to the Student Body? Jour- stead of the Student Body taking fi nd a viable solution. Apparently, This will be diffi cult in these try- Due to some unfortunate nalism used to receive a $1500 money from the total amount of cutting the paychecks for teachers ing economic times. circumstances, Journalism was deposit in order to establish a money we made from the wings, and making them work four days If this does not work, ten to unable to sell Jamba Juice at Fall fi rm fi nancial basis to pay off the they should take their percentage for free next year is a viable solu- twelve percent of LAUSD em- Fest this year. Instead, we sold printing publisher. However, this from the money left after paying tion. Teachers are already under- ployees will be cut. Like last year, Round Table Buffalo wings. We year Journalism received nothing. Round Table back. paid and under-appreciated, and they will start with people furthest were thrilled when we sold out of We wonder if the Student Body Ultimately, Fall Fest and they deserve respect. from the classroom, but teachers our wings ten minutes before the could be using the money made its corrupted spirit this year has If solutions are not made by will be affected nonetheless. lunch bell even rang.