The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 3 - 54

Erik Salminen * Dennis E. Gregory

that it has received all vaccinations required
by local laws and regulations (Bewley, 2015;
hope, 2016; Von Bergen, 2015). requiring the
spaying and neutering of esas is also within a
university's purview (Bewley, 2015).
the inclusion of esas on campus may
negatively affect some students who have allergies, are afraid of certain animals, or are
prohibited from being in the vicinity of certain
animals for religious reasons (hope, 2016;
Von Bergen, 2015). that is why it is important
for the university to advise students that esas
may live in their building, and allow the students to inform housing officials about any

Universities can require the

overnight . Universities also

finally, universities legally may be obligated to allow esas into their handler's residence
halls, but they are not legally obligated to allow
esas to enter every part of campus (Bewley,
2015; hope, 2016; powers, 2014; Von Bergen,
2015). areas where esas can be denied entry
include dining halls, academic buildings, administrative buildings, and the campus itself
(hope, 2016; powers, 2014). in contrast,
service animals, as defined by the aDa, are
allowed to accompany their handlers virtually everywhere on campus (powers, 2014; Von
Bergen, 2015).

can create policies that call for

Unresolved Issues

the removal of ESAs that are

The certification of ESAs. While universities
can ask for documentation from students to
prove they are accommodating esas, there
still are serious concerns that students will
attempt to work the system to bring a pet to
school (hoffman, 2015a; Von Bergen, 2015;
youngren, Boisvert, & Boness, 2016). this
concern may be merited, as the increased

students who own the ESAs to
adhere to certain policies for the
safety of other students and the
animal itself. Students can be
prohibited from leaving their ESA
in their dorm rooms unattended
or in the care of another student

excessively loud, are not kept on
a leash (unless doing so impedes
their work as an ESA), and jump on
other students .
54

potential problems that may arise because of
it (Bewley, 2015; hope, 2016). it is doubly important if the university assigns roommates
that any student who will share a room with an
animal is informed in advance (Bewley, 2015).
in order to avoid unnecessary liability issues
involving other students, institutions with the
necessary budget should build facilities specifically for the washing and grooming of service
animals and esas (Bewley, 2015). universities
also could make pet shampoo and flea collars
available in those facilities (Bewley, 2015). the
public liberal arts college, st. mary's College of
maryland, took this one step further, and prepared designated washers and dryers for esa
handlers to avoid any incidents with allergies
(hoffman, 2015a).

T h e J o u r n a l o f C o l l e g e a n d U n i v e r s i t y St u d e n t H o u s i n g

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

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