Gen Z moving emotional support pets into dorms to…
In dorm rooms across America, school college students used to go at it like rabbits. Now, they home the cutesy animals instead.
As Gen Z forgoes intercourse, medicine, and alcohol, children are instead spending their time on campus tending to emotional support pets.
Students are housing canine, cats, rabbits, and guinea pigs in their dorm rooms in file numbers, per the Associated Press, making school in 2025 less ménage à trois — and more menagerie.
“College is such a traumatic experience in the way of you’re getting ripped away from everything you knew before, being thrown in with people you don’t know — especially if you grew up with pets, being so isolated from everything you knew,” current Marist College grad Sam Gaskins, 24, told The Post.
For three of Gaskins’ 4 years on the Hudson Valley campus, the animal lover — who is non-binary — bunked down with their beloved bunny, Penelope Rose.
Gaskins with their rabbit, Penelope Rose. Sam Gaskins
“From junior year on, she was there with me at school, and when I was freaked out about a test or struggling to find motivation, she’d kind of just pop her little head up and hop over and just be there,” the New Jersey native said.
“It was really comforting to have another presence, and she definitely made me feel at home,” the animal lover added. “I had to feed her, had to change her water, make sure her area was clean, and in doing all of that, it kind of forced me to make sure the same was true for me, because if I don’t take care of me, I can’t take care of her.”
Different faculties have different guidelines concerning what pets are allowed in residence, but emotional support animals do have legal protections under the Fair Housing Act — as they might in other spots where pets would sometimes be banned.
At NYU, for occasion, emotional support animals will be housed in scholar lodging, but the faculty clearly notes that homeowners “are responsible for assuring that the animal does not pose a threat to the health or safety of others, create an unreasonable disturbance, or fundamentally alter the character and purpose of the academic and/or residential environment.”
Gaskins proved widespread thanks to Penelope Rose, with many Marist college students stopping by the pet the fluffy black bunny. Sam Gaskins
They also make clear that “excessive noises and disruptive behaviors—such as repeated barking and whining, chewing and scratching, or aggression—are not permitted.”
At Columbia, meanwhile, emotional support animals are also allowed, but college students must submit documentation of their incapacity, as outlined in the faculty’s incapacity registration pointers.
For some faculties like Eckerd College in Florida, pets are half of the expertise — the liberal arts college has had furry friend-friendly dorms since 1973.
Sophie Nocera, an Eckerd senior, said her canine Zuko helps her keep perspective in mild of the difficulties of school.
Students are housing canine, cats, rabbits, and guinea pigs in their dorm rooms in file numbers, per the Associated Press. Sophie Nocera, 21, performs with her canine Zuko in her school dorm. AP
“I remember coming back to my dorm and just melting to the floor, and Zuko was right there,” the 21-year-old told the AP. “And I remember thinking, whatever happens tomorrow, I’m going to wake up, and I’m going to take him to the dog park. And, we’re going to go play fetch regardless of what my major is.”
Meanwhile, Molly Cheer, a senior nursing major from the University of Northern Colorado, equally says coming back to her dorm room to her adopted cat, Louie, helps dampen college stress.
“Whenever I’m feeling stressed or overwhelmed, I pick him up and cuddle him, and he just deals with it for as long as I need it,” Cheer said.
Having Fido or a feline in a dorm room might doubtlessly create a plethora of issues.
Molly Cheer offers her pet consolation cat, Louie, a deal with in her dorm room at the University of Northern Colorado. AP Photo/Thomas Peipert
What occurs, for instance, if a suitemate suffers from an allergy or a roomie’s hound interrupts a scorching hookup? Despite the potential pet pitfalls, it seems many are enamored by the emotional support animals introduced in by their friends.
“When your roommate gets their cat approved as an emotional support animal and your dorm immediately becomes 100x better,” an Oregon school scholar named Emma wrote in a current TikTok video that went viral.
Gaskins echoed this sentiment, saying they made prompt associates via the fluffy bunny residing in their room.
“The second that you mention that you have an animal living in your dorm, everyone wants to come over and study and hang out,” they said. “It definitely opened the door for me to meet people that I might not have made a connection with.”
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