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Dear Grand View Administration,

            I am writing to communicate ideas I have about the Grand View pet policy. As of right now, the Grand View pet policy states that, “animals are not permitted in the residential facilities due to cleanliness issues and the potential for allergies issue from other residents (except fish in an aquarium of less than 15 gallons)” (Student Handbook). While this policy makes sense for a campus where students do not directly own any property, I feel that this policy may be a little outdated. As life becomes more difficult for college students, they often feel stress, loneliness, depression and anxiety. College is one of the most trying times in a student’s life, but it does not have to be this way in all aspects. Pets have had very significant roles in improving the lives of college students.

            There are many positive aspects that come with having pets in college. There are websites that describe the pros of owning pets in college, such as Accredited Schools Online. These pros consist of but are not limited to:

• They provide companionship: Pets are excellent companions, no matter what species they are. Pets are able to be there for their owners no matter what; they are there to listen, cuddle and even entertain when their owner is sad. These pets also become their owner’s best friend. Students struggling to make friends may especially benefit from pet ownership.
• They can help you make friends: Pets are great conversation starters. Most people love animals and really appreciate bonding over animal videos. When meeting new people, especially new roommates, pets are great ice breakers because people always have some story about a pet. Pets can also be very friendly, and this will help make people feel included if they are naturally shy.
• They encourage exercise: Both students and pets require regular exercise. Having a pet pushes a student to take their pet outside for longer walks or even play with their pet more while they are inside. Any movement is important for the student and the pet. Pets make students be more active and healthy, resulting in a healthier campus.
• They give a mental health boost: Many college students say they experience high stress, depression and anxiety. When a student has a pet, the student’s oxytocin levels — a hormone that reduces anxiety — increase, causing them to be happier. Again, when a student is happier, this will lead to a better campus environment.

These are all important things to consider when thinking about the health of Grand View’s students. Pets would improve student mental health and, as a result, produce a happier campus. While having pets on campus would improve student mental health, there are some understandable risks.

            Having pets on campus would be awesome for students, but it could also cause many problems that students would not be able to fix. Accredited Schools Online also describes the cons of owning a pet on a college campus. Some examples of how pets are not suited for campus could be:

• They’re expensive: College is already expensive at ticket price for the student. Pets are a huge responsibility, and they are not cheap. A student is responsible for all the necessities the pet would need, which include food, litter (if needed), bedding, toys, sometimes grooming and, in a worst-case scenario, medical emergencies. All of this can get to be extremely expensive, and some students may not be able to afford this on top of tuition, so something would end up getting compromised.
• They’re a big time commitment: Animals need play time, exercise, food and attention, whether students are busy or not. Fitting all of this into an already busy schedule could replace the stress that the pet was intended to relieve.
• They could cause property damage: Pets sometimes have a lot of energy that they need to get rid of somehow. Their release of energy could come with damaging the room they live in. Younger pets also might not be potty trained, and that can lead to accidents on GV’s property.
• Some people are allergic to certain pets: This is just a factor that comes with a large number of people. This could cause more dangerous medical problems.

Grand View has taken some steps on allowing students to have pets. These pets have to be registered Emotional Support Animals (ESA). Emotional Support Animals are a category of animals that may work, provide assistance or perform physical tasks for an individual with a disability and/or provide necessary emotional support to an individual with a mental or psychiatric disability that alleviates one or more identified symptoms of an individual’s disability. Grand View’s policy on ESAs states: “GV will consider a request by an individual with a disability for reasonable accommodation from this prohibition to allow an Assistance Animal that is necessary and reasonable, because of a disability” (Assistance Animal Policy and Agreement 2018-2019).

This is a good start to allowing pets on campus, but it is still discriminatory. Students are only allowed one ESA per room. This does not accommodate for rooms that have multiple students with disabilities or who need emotional support. Animals also tend to bond to a single person and be more emotionally supportive toward that one person than a group of people. This means that while a room may have an ESA, that ESA may not help all the students who need it. As an alternative, Grand View administration asks these students to break apart their room and move to separate rooms to allow for these student to have their own ESA. As a student who lives in room where every single person has some form of mental health problem, this policy troubles me. Not only is Grand View saying that my roommate’s mental health is more important than my own, but they also would rather I separate me from my friends and cause worse mental health than just allowing another pet in the room. I feel these alternatives are extremely ridiculous, and in the end, they just cause the student to have worse mental health that could lead to more problems. As opposed to completely dismissing the idea of allowing pets on campus, there are some solutions that could help alleviate the worries.

As opposed to saying pets are not allowed on campus because of extra damage that could occur, ask the students requesting to have multiple pets to pay an extra security deposit. All students who live on campus have to pay one anyway, and if a room of students wants an extra pet, it is reasonable to ask them to cover the cost of any damage that could possibly occur. As opposed to saying pets cannot be on campus because of allergies, ask students to have all roommates sign another set of agreements. As it is right now, roommates have to agree on an ESA being allowed in their room in the first place. Add another set of agreements that say all roommates agree to have multiple pets and that there are no allergies to any of the animals. By allowing a student to take on another pet, they already have accepted that they will be paying more for supplies and giving their pet the exercise they need. Students want to have something that will improve their lives on campus, and that means they are willing to take on any other steps for this to happen.

For the staff members of Grand View, it is important to make sure the students of Grand View are healthy and that their mental health is not declining throughout their time here. Grand View has done many things to improve a student’s physical health by offering healthier food options at all dining services, offering many different fitness classes to attract students and encouraging active lifestyles through different clubs. Shouldn’t that mean that Grand View also cares about its students’ mental health? Grand View does provide its students with counselors to talk to. This is important, but it is not a guaranteed fix for every student. There are students who would rather not talk to a counselor. Students will recognize that counselors might be able to help, but they would not go to them because they may not be ready to share their problems, or they do not trust the counselors because they do not know them. So, while the counselors are a great resource, not every student is comfortable with using them to their fullest potential. This is an instance where pets would help. The student is already bonded with their pet, so this pet will give them comfort and someone to at least talk to without there being any judgement. There is no audible response from a pet, so a student does not need to worry about getting judged and can start to build on skills that will lead them to a healthier mental state.