Eight Hours or Eight Cups of Coffee?

Brian Resendiz

Attending OCSA as a student is exhausting, socially and mentally. This has prompted a handful of students to resort to consuming caffeinated beverages. To investigate this phenomenon, we interviewed OCSA students Maverick Gomez (‘24), Quentin Marino (FTV ‘24), Ava Mora (‘24) and Garret Walker (IM ‘24).

How frequent is your caffeine intake?

Maverick: “Nowadays, I’ve definitely slowed down. I used to drink three or four a day; now I limit myself, one a day keeps me going, definitely, [but] I need that caffeine in my system.”

Quentin: “I’ve been trying to cut down; I used to drink it like once a day, but now I’ve been cutting down to probably more like twice a week.”

Ava: “Every morning. Usually one cup.”

Garrett: “I’d say like once a day at least.”

Why do you drink caffeine?

Maverick: “It tastes good, and it gives me energy.”

Quentin: “In all honesty, energy drinks, or caffeine in general, makes me more energetic, to the point where I could talk more to others … [and] it gives me more of a confidence boost. That could be just a placebo or not even anything, actually.”

Ava: “I like the taste.”

Garrett: “It helps me stay awake, and it’s just kinda part of my routine so when I don’t do it. I just feel thrown off, but it’s usually like a hot cup of coffee. It’s just refreshing to start my morning–it's comforting.”

Has caffeine ever given you rough experiences?

Maverick: “No, Monster’s been completely positive for me.”

Quentin: “A lot of caffeine withdrawals– it’s part of the reason why I stopped drinking, ’cause I didn’t like getting the caffeine withdrawals all the time.”

Ava: “No, I have ADHD so coffee or caffeine in general doesn’t really affect me.”

Garrett: “Sometimes when I don’t have caffeine, I have crazy headaches.”

Would it be a good idea for schools to sell caffeinated drinks?

Maverick: “That would be b-Bussin’!”

Quentin: “I don’t think so. I think if someone wants to get caffeine, they can get it somewhere else.”

Ava: “Absolutely, it would probably be much cheaper if the school provided it [as opposed to] actual coffee chains.”

Garrett: “No, I don’t think so. I don’t think schools have to provide caffeine, but if they did, it wouldn’t be a bad thing … there’s pros and cons to both, so I really don’t think it would matter either way.”

The takeaway is that although it would be convenient for students to have caffeine provided at school, it may come with side effects that schools would rather not deal with. Students should try to limit or moderate intake, in order to balance physical health and mental stamina.