Pets on Campus

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Pets on campus

Recently, a story in the New York Times stated that Stephens College is now opening up the campus to pets for upcoming students. They believe that it will help students adapt to an on-campus environment. Allison Frisch is among one of the thirty upcoming freshmen that asked to bring a pet with them to school.

Meanwhile, a small number of other schools also believe in students bringing pets on campus including: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, State University of New York at Canton, and Eckerd College. According to Dr. Harold S. Koplewicz, psychiatrist specializing in children and adolescents feels otherwise in the situation at hand. He feels it will slow transition down from high school to college. Also, according to his research feels like human interaction will decrease amazingly on campus as well.

Because, if one has an animal or shall we say pet in the dormitory then how will one interact with the other students on campus. On the other hand, pets do seem to relieve stress from a hard, long day of class or work. But, the truth is not only is this crazy this is also very dangerous. Unless, one can bring his or her pet to class which I think is impossible, no one can watch his or her pet while they are in class. A staff member or Residence Life Coordinator enters the room for an inspection and the pet gets out of the room then what can one do?

Last, we neglect to mention the health risk of other students, faculty, and staff on campus. Personally, I feel the pets should stay at home where they belong and not on campus with other students. If a student wants a pet to stay with them through the amazing college experience, then they should get a house or an apartment that allows pets within the living environment.