A dog on the Pierce College Mall. A cat in the Village. A hamster on Ken Stanley court. A parrot in the library. A chimpanzee in Angela Belden’s Psychology 101.
If Pierce decided to allow emotional support animals (ESA) on campus, it would open up a can of large distracting worms that could disrupt a student’s ability to learn.
According to the American Kennel Club, an ESA is a pet that a licensed mental health professional prescribes if they determine the presence of a pet can help a patient’s mental health.
However, this does not give the animal the same rights as a service animal.
According to the American with Disabilities Act, (ADA) a service animal is any animal that has received specific training to help a person with disabilities function in their everyday lives. Service animals are allowed in public places as stated in the ADA.
The ADA does not recognize emotional support animals as service animals.
So why should Pierce?
The only rights afforded to ESAs are found within the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits landlords from discriminating against a tenant with an ESA. Landlords must make accommodations for these animals such as waiving the pet rent or allowing the pet to live there even if they specify ‘no pets allowed.’
Also, there is no officially recognized certification or registry for ESAs. So all those websites claiming to certify pets are scams. The only thing needed is a doctor’s note.
It would make sense to allow emotional support animals on Pierce if there were student housing on campus. But even then, students wouldn’t be allowed to bring their pets with them into classrooms.
If a student is allowed to bring their ESA to campus, would they lock them outside during classes? No, that would be inhumane.
Would Pierce open up a pet daycare? No, that would take up money, time and construction that is better spent on more pressing needs.
If Pierce decided to allow ESAs, there’s nothing stopping a student from claiming even the wildest of animals as their pet and school officials would not be able to do anything.
Luckily for students that can not live or go outside without their emotional support animals, almost all of Pierce’s courses are offered with Dual Delivery.
