Furry friends

Going away to college is a big step. Living “on your own” and having to take care of your own schedule and study habits is supposed to teach responsibility (emphasis on “supposed to”). But what better way to teach responsibility than to have to care for someone else?

IU doesn’t allow students to keep any pets in dorms except goldfish (so exciting). But many students, especially those who are living without their furry friends for the first time, would love to have something else.

Dogs might not be the best pets to keep in a dorm, but cats and rabbits generally don’t make too much noise. They don’t need to be walked, and they don’t need too much room to run around, but they do provide companionship to first-year students who are lonely or stressed.

In fact, pets can help reduce stress. They snuggle, listen to woes with a sympathetic ear and do some pretty amusing things. In fact, simply petting an animal can reduce one’s heart rate and blood pressure. Students who are lonely being far away from home would benefit from having a pet’s unconditional love and affection.

Even if it’s a bad idea to allow individual students to have a pet, floor pets would be a good way to provide people with access to animals. Need a furry friend? Grab the floor cat from the lounge for an hour.

Some might say students who miss their pets should get an apartment instead of staying in the dorms. However, (almost all) freshmen are required to live on campus, and they would benefit greatly from having access to pets. Roommates could always be required to sign off on pets, so people who are afraid of gerbils don’t have to live with them. As for allergies ... well, this is Bloomington. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t been able to breathe through my nose for a month anyway. There are always ways of designating some dorms pet-friendly and forbidding them from others, so students who don’t want to be around animals can ask to be placed in a dorm where pets aren’t allowed.

Many students would love to have access to pets, and studies have shown that college students benefit from having pets around.

“Many students said that their pets fulfill a significant role that is missing in their lives,” said Sara Staats, professor emeritus of psychology at  Ohio State University. “The pets are not a substitute for human social interaction and support, but they do provide important interaction for these kids who might otherwise feel isolated from their current environment.”

Having constant access to pets, whether they’re individually owned or belong to a floor, would help students relieve stress and fight back loneliness. Allowing them in dorms for freshmen who don’t have the option of living in a pet-friendly off-campus apartment would be extremely beneficial.
 

E-mail: hanns@indiana.edu