I don’t know if you know, but there is a war going on. Families stand divided, friends are against friends and even those of us who claim to be “neutral” have an opinion.

Every morning, every afternoon and sometimes for some people every evening, the battle begins. It is time for me to speak out and tell you my side of this great divide, in hopes that we can find common grounds.

I am a coffee drinker. I need my caffeine fix, sometimes more than once a day.

I know, I know. Many of you are crying out in a frenzied support that can only be fueled by one-too-many shots of espresso. The other half are weeping quietly into your cups of herbal tea, whispering “Kjerstine, I thought I knew you.”

Like I said, this is a dividing issue.

Okay, so maybe I’m exaggerating the situation a little bit. That being said, it often shocks me how intense the caffeine debate is. Some liken it to a drug as bad as crack, calling it an addiction. Some refuse to touch coffee, sticking with their tea (most of which is caffeinated, funnily enough). Others won’t let their daily cup (or seven) o’ joe go. They say it is harmless, a pick me up or that they enjoy the taste as they doctor the coffee with cream, sugar and whatever constitutes the flavor “pumpkin spice.”

But it’s not just coffee that has come into the “caffeine is the devil” debate. Now we have energy drinks. They don’t lie about what they are for. They are there for the buzz and only the buzz. They are designed, as one campaign put it, to be drunk like soda so it can be “slammed down” quickly.

We’ve all heard the horror stories of people dying of heart attacks from drinking Red Bull after Red Bull after Red Bull. We’ve all heard the deathly danger that comes from ordering a McDonald’s coffee that is too hot. And yet, we still drink it.

I’m not condemning coffee or energy drinks — I partake, after all. I’m also not condemning caution when using caffeine.

We often forget when we reach for that second (or fourteenth) cup of coffee or buy the midday energy drink that keeps us going until we crash in the evening, that caffeine is still a stimulant. Many of us work shifts that screw with our sleep schedules. Caffeine is the only legal stimulant that can keep us going and going and going, as if we were human energizer bunnies.

That being said, the side that sticks caffeine up there with the Illuminati (but not quite as high as blood-ritual cult worship) does have one valid point — caffeine, or the stuff that comes with it, can be dangerous.

Caffeine is basically a chemically induced adrenaline rush, minus the adrenaline. The side effects are the same — increased alertness and awareness, jitteriness and uneven heart rhythm to name a few.

Though the dangers are there, we can handle ourselves with some self control.

The FDA recommends no more than three cups a day, but goodness knows most of us who drink coffee or energy drinks go far past this.

The thing is, neither side is winning this war over caffeine. I refuse to give up my morning Hammerhead, and they refuse to put down the decaf. I think at the very least we can come to an agreement that caffeine can be dangerous. Caffeine also can be a tool.

We’re college students. We’re stretched thin and are often low on sleep and rest. Sometimes the only way to get through the day is to grab that Monster and chug.

For those of you who don’t need caffeine, I admire you. I don’t know how you do it, but you do you. Just don’t demonize my coffee, and we’ll get along.

Kjerstine Trooien is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at kjerstine.trooien @my.und.edu.