Wednesday, November 19, 2008

what do you think??

I personally think that fish only pet policy in dormitory should be extend to other pets as well, such as cats, dogs, etc. No offence but what can fishes do, they can’t come to you, you can’t pet them. They are just for display. If you attempt to “pet” them, there is a huge chance that the fish will jump out of your hand and be a “flapping fish”. Sounds funny but it happens. These are not the case for four-legged pets. Dogs should be allowed on campus and EVEN in dormitory. Students who have a very looooong day at class or lab will like to come back to a nurturing atmosphere, a place where is somewhat similar to home. This will ease their stress as college life may be very stressful. Believe me. Moreover, simply ask any student walking on campus, almost all of them would like to have pets on campus and dormitory. It creates a very harmonious environment between humans and pets. Furthermore, having pet in dormitory ease the transition of college life for new students. However, students who opt to have pets shall be fully responsible for their pets. Also the college can come up with a way to accommodate pets on dormitory. For example, Massachusetts Institute of Technology tried allowing cats in dormitory for 2 years. It was very successful. For those colleges that have the No Pet Policy, they should try something new like what I’m stressing upon. Having pet on dormitory might just increase their student enrollment. However, this should be view as the by product of having pet on campus, and not as their main goal.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

mayb not pets such as dogs, cats, etc.. Maybe hamsters can be allowed lo.small and wont really disturb other ppl at the dorm.

Sam Chong said...

yeah dogs are a little too much...
even smallish ones..
i think the dog will like to be stuck in a small room the whole time ...

as for cats...NO! and NO!

Anonymous said...

agree..
plus some ppl r allegy to pets fur and stuff..
They have their reasons for "fish only" policy u know..

n Cats smell real bad..

Anonymous said...

fish don make loud noises like cat and dogs dude..
Imaging the cats and dogs and etc making hell of a noise at night..

sleepless night

josh28ho said...

First of all, I’m sure one of thousands of students does keep pet in their room, secretly. This is because pets really help student in handling stress, and thus maybe a better academic performance. Ok maybe I’m too excited to have dogs in dorms. But doesn’t mean it’s not worth a try because MIT do allow cats in dorms. But anyway, I will talk more on cats.MIT did it and it was a great success. If they can do it, why not the other universities. One reason the fish only policies in almost all universities is because they didn’t want to take a big risk. But this risk is already taken by MIT. Besides, the university can and should do a survey to see if students want other pets in dorms. Cats don’t need to be walked like dogs. Cats don’t bark, hence doesn’t generate much noise and plus cats can fend for themselves while students are in class. So rest assures they won’t be any noise in the middle of the night.
MIT have 4 dorms for pets out of 11. So to solve the allergy part, the university can have a building dedicated just to pets. I’m sure students who opt to stay there won’t be allergy to animals.
Cats do not normally smells. Cats only smell when they get into garbage can. Cats are actually known for cleaning themselves. But the cat box does smells. It is then student’s duty to clean it every day. To make the students clean the cat box everyday, the university should have the students sign an agreement form on cleanliness and that if their room does smell, the student will be fine.

Ee Kai said...

Ok.. Lets take Condos and apartment for example.. Pets are not allowed.. especially dogs..
u should knw better
that dogs need space even smaller one..
alrite u argue tat we can always bring them to park or garden in campus but student spend most of their time in classes plus who will be responsible to the "loo n poo" lying around in the park??

Plus to implement this system like MIT , new department responsible to this have to be set up.. i think is a waste of money and resourses to the uni itself..

wat about students with allegy..
u mention pet helps students in handling stress but when we look at this in the other way it actually brings additional pressure to students..

imagine when ur preparing for finals.. ur dog shits around..
smells..

Pets are living things so eventually they die.. How to handle it properly??

I myself loves pet dog alot..
but i dun think is a realistic idea..

There are much to consider before actually allowing pets in dorm..

well
i see more cons than pros.

josh28ho said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
josh28ho said...

Of course dogs are not allowed in condos as they tend to be noisy and can be dirty, but I’m emphasizing on pets such as cats. Cats are known to require less attention than dogs. If students are going to class, they can leave their pets in the dorm as they won’t make much noise.
If MIT can build dormitories just for pet cat, they will definitely be able to set up a new department for pet day care. This way, the university is able to earn additional credit for being a special school.
It depends on whether the university is short on budget or not in terms of considering if it’s a waste of money or resources. If a university have the money and land, why not? Besides, isn’t university built for students?
For the pet’s “mess”, two things can be suggested. First, have the rule of demolishing the pet policy if even one mess is found in gardens. Thus, students will be more responsible if they truly want their pets with them. Second, student’s pet can be tag chemically in their system. So when students do leave their pet’s mess behind, the pets can be identify by their “poo.” Then students will be fined for doing so. The chemical use will not harm the pets though. I believe with nowadays tech, it is possible.
The allergy point was in my previous post. Just in case you didn’t catch that, students who choose to stay in pets dormitory are obviously with their pets. So I don’t think students with allergy will have pet, needless to say, stays in pet dorms.

josh28ho said...

I did not mention pet help to “handle” stress. That’s the job of students. Pets just make students feel comfortable. Also, there is an article that says a research showed pet helps in reducing stress. This article can be found in http://clearinghouse.missouriwestern.edu/manuscripts/148.asp.
Pets will live longer than student’s academic yrs. So when students complete their studying yrs, they can opt to raise their pet at home, or give up for adoption, which is unlikely to happen.
Also, pet cats will have to be collared. The collar will printed with students name so if the pet is lost, it can be return to the student. Also, a flea collar will be strap if the pets are cats to ensure the cleanliness of dormitories.
If even the slightest noise irritates students, which wouldn’t, there are still other pets other than fish that can be considered, such as snakes, hamster, turtle, hermit crab, and even rabbit. All of these pets are allowed in MIT. The only reason MIT allow these pets are they can be fitted in a small cage. Not only that these pets don’t make noise, they’re way better than fish. Talk about feeding, these pets will eat when they want. All students have to do is just place the foods in the cage. What comes naturally next? Ha! The pets can also poop in their cage, and yes for some pet, their poo smells. All the university has to do is fine the student if the student’s room smells.
I believe having pet is not a difficult thing to implement, just that the issue needs to be brought up. Take sport bars on campus for example. There are many negative points on having one on campus, but ppl still fight to have them. In short, ppl emphasize more to have drunk students than pet loving students.