Sometimes AU students will have a roommate that has puked on their bed, peed on their floor or ate their pizza that has sat around for five days. Students in other colleges across the nation have similar problems - but these roommates are pets.
Several colleges have begun to allow students to keep animals in their dormitories, but AU is not one of them. As of right now, no pets are permitted in the dorms, according to Director of Residence Life Rick Treter.
"We define a pet as anything that cannot live under water for more than five minutes - in other words - fish," he said.
Schools such as Washington and Jefferson College in Pennsylvania, Eckerd College in Florida and Stephens College in Missouri have opted for pet-friendly residence policies. The intention is to make adjusting to college life easier for new students as well as reap the financial benefits of keeping the students who want to own pets in campus housing, according to USA Today.
Kaitie O'Hare, a freshman in the School of Communication, said having pets in the dorms would make college feel more like home, but is generally a bad idea.
"We will abandon them," she said. "Without a doubt."
The Humane Society of the United States' Web site cautioned students to plan thoroughly before they decide to adopt a pet.
"One of the main responsibilities of having a pet is making sure it has a lifelong home," the Web site said. "For students, this means not getting rid of the pet when the animal is no longer convenient, or when the student moves back home. End-of-semester dumping of animals is a sad reality."
Lory Arnlov, director of resident life at Stephens College, said many pet-owning students "give them up" to local animal shelters at the end of each semester. The program, which has run for four years, has been an overall success, she said. The designated pet dormitories have accumulated over 40 pet residents, mostly brought from students' homes. They include cats, dogs and ferrets, according to Arnlov.
Other colleges could also succeed in having a pet-friendly policy, but they would "need to have a specific space designed," Arnlov said. The two dorms that allow pets at Stephens College, Prunty and Searcy Halls, were not specifically built to accommodate animals, but this has not negatively impacted the college's pet policy.
Although AU does not have dormitories made to house animals, some students think they would bring their pets with them if the university gave them the opportunity.
Lee Kaufman-Berson, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, said he would like to have his lizard as an additional roommate. He thinks certain pets should be allowed in the dorms, while others shouldn't.
"It depends on the situation," he said. "Nobody is really allergic to lizards or anything."
Treter said he doubts there will be any changes in AU's pet policy in the future because of allergies, health concerns, pet safety and a lack of proper space.
