If you have ever seen a student walking their dog through campus or a ‘meow’ from behind a closed door in the residence halls this semester, you most likely came across a student’s emotional support animal. Students who have moved into the campus residence halls from home experience an overwhelming change to their lifestyle. This change can create emotional and physical distress, but students have found a way to anticipate and manage it. Emotional support animals are students’ pets who make their owners’ lives a little bit easier with their presence.
Laura Shaw, a sophomore majoring in political science at USF St. Petersburg, adopted her Blue Russian cat, Stevie, so that she has a little piece of home while she’s away.
“I started the ESA process before I adopted Stevie because I knew I wanted to adopt a cat that could live on campus with me. I talked about it with my therapist first, and she supported the idea because I knew it would provide the emotional support I needed,” Shaw said. “Having Stevie has made me feel more comfortable living away from home…”
Shaw even included her roommates in the adoption process so that there wouldn’t be any miscommunication about the new addition to their room.
“I haven’t gotten any complaints about her! I had multiple talks with my roommates before adopting her and they expressed their support,” Shaw said. “My friends and floormates love her and she gets lots of visitors.”
Animals that provide a service or comfort to students are allowed on the University of South Florida’s three campuses. On USF St. Pete’s campus, the three residence halls, Osprey Suites, Ibis Hall and Pelican Apartments, are all available to students with emotional support animals or service animals.
According to the USF policy for animals on campus outlined by the administrative services, emotional support animals provide the sole function of emotional support and are not permitted on campus unless they are considered assistance animals. These assistance animals work to aid and perform tasks for anyone who needs emotional support or beneficial help with their disability. While these animals are the only ones allowed to live on campus, an exception may be made for small fish.
When reached out to for comment on emotional support animals, the housing department’s Coordinator of Housing, Nicholas Johnson tells Her Campus: “…ESAs [emotional support animals] are directly tied to student’s medical records and some aspects of the process are protected for this reason.”
Johnson did comment on the ESA process saying: “Our ESA process begins at the outreach of the student- they request information about the process, and we provide the required paperwork that they need to complete for their animal to get approved. Once it is returned to us and reviewed, we will ask for more information or provide the animal’s approval. There is then a two-week holding period before the animal can come to campus.”
For students to have medical or psychological housing accommodation, such as an emotional or service animal, requests must be processed on a first come-first served basis. Students are advised to contact USF St. Pete’s Assistant Director of Housing, Stephen Harris, for these requests.
It’s important for students who need it, to take advantage of the accommodations that the university has to offer. If you are struggling with your mental illness or disability while living away from home, maybe look into getting an ESA to keep you company and relieve some of those challenges.