University's ferret ban spurs disabilities complaint

[Tristan Miller]

Greetings.

When I read this article from the Houston Chronicle
<http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/3395999>, the recent

Disabilities complaint filed after ferret banned from dorm
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - A student has filed an Americans With Disabilities Act
complaint against a university because it won't let her keep her pet
ferret at her dormitory.
Freshman Sarah Sevick, 19, said in a complaint filed with the U.S.
Justice Department that she needs the ferret, named Lilly, at Our Lady of
the Lake University to calm her during panic attacks.

This incident once again raises the issues of when a university policy
begins to infringe upon personal liberties, and when personal liberties
begin to infringe upon the right (or at least expectation) of others not
to be inconvenienced or disturbed.

Personally I don't see what the problem is taking pets to class, provided
they don't cause a disturbance. I work at a university and take my ferret
to work with me every day; she sleeps on my lap all day and doesn't bother
anyone. In fact, most of the students and faculty are delighted to see
her, and whenever we have visitors my coworkers invariably end up knocking
on my door to introduce them to our resident fuzzbutt and semi-official
mascot and morale officer. Of course, I do live in western Europe where
the culture is more tolerant to pets generally; it's quite common to see
dogs in trains, busses, restaurants, and stores.

I'm disappointed that the student in the article feels she has to use her
disability status to justify bringing her pet to school. The university
ought to have had the sense not to have restricted such victimless
behaviour in the first place. I can understand disallowing a particular
animal in a particular class or dorm room if a fellow student or roommate
has an allergy, or if the animal makes noise or a mess, but a blanket ban
on all pets seems a bit harsh to me, especially for private areas such as
dorm rooms and offices.

Regards,
Tristan

[v***@gmail.com]

Fear of the Unknown. Bayes Theorem.

I believe these two things somewhat explain 'our' reactions. 'We'
understand humans and can communicate with each other. There is some
predictability associated; past is predictive of the future. There is
some pattern.

While you may be intimately familiar with your pet, others won't be,
and in their brains, their frame of reference for your pet is likely to
be a general template to start with (eg, a ferret, with a lot of
unknowns...will it bite me ? how will it respond if I tap it on the
head ? etc). Then as they get to know your pet a bit more, that general
template will transform into a more specific template (eg, koko-the
ferret-cute-friendly,etc).

I totally support being allowed to take *my dog* to wherever I go, but
I am not always comfortable with others' pets. It's the same the other
way round as well...while my dog would probably just growl if I touch
his tail, I can assure you if some unknown stranger were to do that, he
will not think twice before biting.

I think it is ok that the university allows only known, complicated
animals (us) in the building. The UNKNOWN factor is simply too great
with other species (as yet..).

Post by Tristan Miller
Greetings.
When I read this article from the Houston Chronicle
<http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/3395999>, the recent

Disabilities complaint filed after ferret banned from dorm
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - A student has filed an Americans With Disabilities Act
complaint against a university because it won't let her keep her pet
ferret at her dormitory.
Freshman Sarah Sevick, 19, said in a complaint filed with the U.S.
Justice Department that she needs the ferret, named Lilly, at Our Lady of
the Lake University to calm her during panic attacks.

This incident once again raises the issues of when a university policy
begins to infringe upon personal liberties, and when personal liberties
begin to infringe upon the right (or at least expectation) of others not
to be inconvenienced or disturbed.
Personally I don't see what the problem is taking pets to class, provided
they don't cause a disturbance. I work at a university and take my ferret
to work with me every day; she sleeps on my lap all day and doesn't bother
anyone. In fact, most of the students and faculty are delighted to see
her, and whenever we have visitors my coworkers invariably end up knocking
on my door to introduce them to our resident fuzzbutt and semi-official
mascot and morale officer. Of course, I do live in western Europe where
the culture is more tolerant to pets generally; it's quite common to see
dogs in trains, busses, restaurants, and stores.
I'm disappointed that the student in the article feels she has to use her
disability status to justify bringing her pet to school. The university
ought to have had the sense not to have restricted such victimless
behaviour in the first place. I can understand disallowing a particular
animal in a particular class or dorm room if a fellow student or roommate
has an allergy, or if the animal makes noise or a mess, but a blanket ban
on all pets seems a bit harsh to me, especially for private areas such as
dorm rooms and offices.
Regards,
Tristan
--
_
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