Senator Adrian Dannis ’14 introduced a new Animal Policy draft at the Senate meeting Tuesday that would allow Community Safety and Facilities to designate off-leash areas for dogs and expand current college policy to encompass non-canine support animals. The policy draft, in part a response to the changes regarding support animals the Justice Department made to the Americans with Disabilities Act in 2011, would replace the college’s current Dog Policy, which Dannis says “is completely outdated.”
Dean of Students Mike Brody praised the proposal as a solution to difficulties Community Safety officers face in enforcing the current Dog Policy. The current policy, for example, forbids faculty and staff from keeping their dogs off-leash in their offices, but Community Safety officers do not enforce this stipulation, and Brody says this disparity makes the policy untenable. “The current policy has been unenforceable for a very long time,” he said. “This one looks like one we can actually really use.”
The proposed Animal Policy would also prevent community members from harming wild animals on campus and provide Community Safety officers a framework for addressing repeated violations of the policy. Senate will further discuss the policy proposal at its next meeting.