by Grace Carter
On the beautiful campus of Sweet Briar College in Amherst, dogs run through the 3300 acres that stretch across central Virginia. There are an abnormal number of dogs living on the campus, more than one might expect to find on other college campuses. In the freshman dorm alone, there are approximately 10 emotional support animals to the 120 freshman living in Meta Glass, Six of these animals being dogs. Collegerank.net lists Sweet Briar as the second most dog friendly school, only after Stephen’s College.
Students that have ESAs are of all grades and ages. I talked to Junior Ellis Carroll, who has an ESA who lives with her on campus for the last few months. Ellis believes that ESAs are helpful for a lot of students, especially those that have mental illnesses. “The ESA rules that I found out after I was approved are not fair to dog owners especially. We aren’t allowed to have them in buildings, and we cant have them off leash. There is no enclosed space for dogs to exercise either. I would definitely change the rules about where we can have them.” Carroll expresses her desire to have a place for her ESA to socialise as she says that it is vitally important to an animals health that they are socialised and can run and play.
Ellis Carol’s ideas and opinions are supported by many therapists, who agree that dogs as ESAs can be an important step for people with mental illness on the road to recovery and to acclimate people to college life. For people with depression, anxiety, panic disorders, and adjustment disorders, a dog can provide needed comfort and solace to a person struggling. “ESAs are in tune with their owners energy and emotions. They encourage people to engage in good self care such as socialising or going for walks. Petting and cuddling an animal is also soothing and relaxing- which is helpful for people with depression or anxiety” This was said by Angela Marshal M.Ed., L.P.C, a therapist for Wishing You Well counseling center in Lynchburg VA, whose practice is not far from Sweet Briar and several other colleges which allow ESA’s. Angela truly believes that animals can bring their owners comfort and that an ESA,for some people, are essential to a person’s well being and recovery in conjunction with mental illness.
It seems to be a popular thought that having an ESA would prohibit you from having a roommate, or put strain on a roommates relationship. However, as I sat in a purple and grey tapestried room, two girls explained why this notion was an incorrect one. Weatherly has an ESA, a 3 year old pug chihuahua mix named Gershwin. Her roommate Sienna explained that the dog does not add any stress to their personal relationship with one another, or their roommate agreements. If anything, it makes their room a happier place due to the fact that it is part of an ESA’s job to spread joy and keep anxiety within the room at a minimum.
Vic Lindsey, the Director of Student Life at SBC explained “Sweet Briar’s policy is in line with the policies of most other colleges across the United States (to the best of my knowledge)”. The Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Act, along with certain court proceedings, establish the basic ground rules for how housing providers are required to accommodate tenants and the reasonable limits of those accommodations. These rules are designed to protect all parties involved. Except for service animals, which are considered an extension of their handler according to the law, no animals are permitted in administrative buildings on campus. This is to protect the health of individual who may be allergic to or scared of animals. It is also designed to reduce potential distractions or disturbances, especially in a classroom environment. Requests for an ESA are considered according to the needs of the student and the needs of the animal. If an animal cannot be reasonably accommodated within our existing housing facilities, we can deny the request. Similarly, if there is not appropriate documentation indicating the student’s need for animal based on a qualifying disability, the request could be denied.” When asked about outdoor living spaces for animals, I was given no response.
Sweet Briar Junior Laura Helber feels that, although she is glad to have her ESA she feels that they are to easy to get. She is glad that people are able to have their dogs on campus but she doesn’t necessarily think they should be called ESAs if their explicit purpose is not to directly affect a person’s mental health in a positive and productive way. There is a lot of debate on whether or not an animal can be considered an ESA if the person doesn’t have debilitating mental illness.
When asked about the rules regarding the ESA policy on Sweet Briar, all ESA owners agree that the dogs need a place on campus to run and play. Where the owners disagree though, is whether or not the rules regarding where dogs can be at different times. Some people say that the dogs should be able to go with their owners to class to help with anxiety in the classroom, especially during testing. These students say that testing is when they need their ESA the most, as that is when they are most stressed. However, there are students who argue that an animal in the classroom is distracting to their learning experience. ESA owners also argue that their animals should be allowed in other dorm buildings, and in non-academic buildings, such as the gym or the art barn. The only true argument against this idea is made by students that have allergies to dogs.
Dogs on college campuses are a new idea, ad as such the proper regulations are still being figured out Sweet Briar college is one of the first colleges that is recognizing that people’s mental health is the most important factor when it comes to doing well academically. As evident by the people interviewed, there is still a lot of ways that the school can improve the rules to make it easier on owners, and more comfortable for the dogs living in these dorms.