Therapy animals should be more accessible to college students

Therapy animals have become more and more prevalent in recent years within many school districts across the nation—a phenomenon that I feel is a very positive improvement for the education system and students of all ages; even college students. 

This semester, SUNY Geneseo has been trying to include therapy dogs in a weekly schedule at the Fraser Library, including some larger events with Roc Dogs in the Union. I think these events are a fantastic way for students to go and forget about the stressors in their lives for a few moments. I personally have been unable to attend these due to scheduling issues, which points to my only issue with what the school is trying to do—the therapy dogs come at the same time on the same days of the week, therefore excluding many members of the student body. My wish is that the school might stagger times to later in the afternoon, as well as change up the days.

I think that we should be able to have dogs (or even cats, because everyone forgets about them) at least once a week. My dream would be to have a designated room to host the critters every day 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. The administration could even email a Google Form to students with options for what time would be the most convenient for the most people. And as for the “designated room,” I highly suggest the nap room, as it allows for ample relaxation with the pods and massage chairs—just imagine a cute, fluffy animal cuddling up with you in that cozy space. 

If therapy animals were more accessible to all students, more specifically those here at Geneseo, do you think we would be happier and more productive if we had something to look forward to after classes? I think so. These animals could serve as a source of motivation—you could, for example, tell yourself that you have to finish reading a chapter before you can go see the therapy animals. In psychology classes we learn about positive reinforcement, and this is just that: something positive to reward hard workers with.

Therapy animals are a key to success in elementary schools, so why wouldn’t they lead to success here, helping college students cope with hardships? In some special education schools, dogs are brought in as reading helpers; a young child who needs to practice their reading skills can read to the dog because they are comforting and non-judgmental. This neutral (and adorable) outlook could lead to equally helpful results for busy college students. 

Therapy animals can reduce the stress college students feel to be perfect all the time, balancing classes, extracurriculars, and learning to be an adult. I would like to finalize this argument by saying that nobody is perfect and there is no set timeline to your life—just go with the flow and, if you can find the time, hang out with some therapy animals.