The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 3 - 49

Animal Housing

Assistance animals, emotional support
animals, and the relevant statues. an esa
is any animal, whether it has been trained or
not, that has been prescribed by a medical professional to help an individual with psychiatric
issues to function (powers, 2014; huss, 2016;
Von Bergen, 2015). While esas are not considered service animals under the aDa, they fall
into a broader category of assistance animals,
which are covered by the air Carrier access
act (aCaa) (1986), section 504 of the rehabilitation act (1973), and the fair housing act
(fha) (1968)(Bourland, 2009; huss, 2016;
trasviña, 2013; Von Bergen, 2015).
the aCaa allows handlers of assistance
animals to bring their pets onto flights for
free (Bourland, 2009). section 504 of the rehabilitation act (1973) requires reasonable accommodations to allow those with disabilities
to participate in federally-funded programs or
benefits, as long as the individuals are otherwise capable of functioning in the environment. according to a 2013 notice from the
u.s. Department of housing and urban Development's office of fair housing and equal
opportunity, esas are considered reasonable
accommodation under both section 504 and
the fha (trasviña, 2013). the fha prohibits
discriminatory practices when buying, selling,
renting, or leasing dwellings that are either
owned or funded at least in part by the federal
government (gowin, 2014; title Viii of the
Civil rights act of 1968, 1968). according to
the fha, a dwelling is defined as,
any building, structure, or portion thereof
which is occupied as, or designed or intended
for occupancy as, a residence by one or
more families, and any vacant land which is
offered for sale or lease for the construction

or location thereon of any such building,
structure, or portion thereof. (Title VIII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1968 § 802, 1968)
a family, in this case, can consist of just a
single person (title Viii of the Civil rights act
of 1968, 1968). these statutes previously have
not been used to require esas on university
campuses; however, the outcomes of recent
cases dating back to at least 2012 indicate that
this may no longer be accurate moving into
the future (gowin, 2014; huss, 2012; powers,
2014; Von Bergen, 2015).

Legal Precedents for ESAs on Campuses
Velzen v. Grand Valley State University (2012).
Velzen started living on campus at grand
Valley state university (gVsu) in michigan as
a new student in august 2011. she had sought
treatment for depression since 2007, and received a pacemaker due to her stress-induced
cardiac arrhythmia in 2009. Velzen was prescribed a guinea pig named Blanca as an esa
to control her symptoms from both of her ailments. unfortunately, gVsu did not allow
animals in residence halls. the university
eventually relented after Velzen and the fair
housing Center of West michigan (fhCWm)
submitted a complaint to the michigan Department of Civil rights, but Velzen was granted
only an interim exception. this caused Velzen
and the fhCWm to sue the university on
the grounds that it had violated the michigan persons with Disabilities Civil rights act
(pWDCra) (1976), fha(1968), and rehabilitation act (1973) (Velzen v. grand Valley state
university, 2012).
the court dismissed the pWDCra and
fha violations because sovereign immunity protected the university and its board of
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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 3

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