Sophia Allen
Lantern Staff
Though pets are not currently allowed on campus, having animals at Butler would be beneficial to students, faculty and administrators. Having animals on campus would decrease stress, comfort students adjusting to being away from home and help those who may be struggling with mental illnesses.
At some point in their college experience, all students experience some level of stress and adults with jobs and responsibilities experience more stress. There have been many studies showing that time with animals helps relieve some of that pressure. In the Spring of 2011, Yale University gained attention for their use of therapy dogs to help law students struggling with the rigor of the program.
People with mental health issues can experience even more stress than the average person. According to a study by Thomas Curran and Andrew Hill, millennials and Gen Z are more likely to have anxiety and/or depression than previous generations. These are most of the people currently enrolled in educational institutions.
If there were to be a space with animals on the Butler campus, both students and faculty could stop by and ease themselves from some of the stress that they could be experiencing. This, however, is not perfect. There are people with allergies to animals, some of which could be deadly.
To reduce this risk, students could be required to wash their hands after spending time with the animals and encouraged to take as little as possible into the animal area with them as to not gather allergens on belongings.
Another issue with having an animal area would be the cost. Animals can be expensive, but there are probably plenty of people who would volunteer their pets to come to campus during the day. It could also function somewhat like a cat café, where animals from shelters could be housed in an interactive environment.
There would be a variety of toys, beds, and interactive structures for the animals as well as places for humans to sit. They could be available for adoption by students who live in apartments, at home, or those who graduate. The area could be supervised by student volunteers.
Butler has hosted animals before finals in the past, but there is no reason that students could not de-stress by cute fluffball all semester long.