Is this really about having a pet on campus? People would never abuse the rules for something like that, would they?
The Washington Examiner reports:
College students increasingly taking emotional support animals to campusDespite ridicule, growing numbers of college students are turning to emotional support animals.While living in a college dormitory once meant leaving your favorite four-legged friend at home, a growing number of college students have found a way to circumvent the rules about animals on campus in the name of mental health.The last few years have seen a growing number of college students requesting, and being approved, to keep a personal cat or dog with them on campus, in the name of an emotional support animal.While traditional service dogs for people with certain disabilities have been around for many years and are protected under the Americans With Disabilities Act, emotional support animals have become more of a recent phenomenon as a new way of treating mental illness.Following a federal clarification about the classification guidelines for such animals by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2015, an increasing number of individuals have begun seeking legitimate medical certifications to carry an ESA with them, and college students have been no exception.According to administrators at Temple University, the number of requests for emotional support animals on their campus has risen substantially over the past few years, from six requests in 2017-2018 to 20 requests for the 2018-2019 academic year.
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