Hairless In The Dorms

When studens walked down the halls of their dorms at Piedmont College they will never hear the bark of a dog or the purr of a cat. However they can expect to see over-grown lizards and large tanks full of fish. That is because Piedmont's current pet policy is "students may have pets with no furr or feathers." President Cleere says "allowing students to have pets such as dogs and cats would be a distraction." Can a distraction not be a good thing sometimes? Maybe having a dog or cat could be a good distraction from all the stress and pressure of college. It is always said that a dog or cat is a human's best friend. President Cleere says his biggest worry is "students will slack on cleaning up after their pets causing a huge mess and unneccessary work for housekeeping." Residence Life Coordinator Mark Maynard adds "students with pets such as dogs and cats is a big responsibility, a big responsibility that Piedmont feels students may not be able to handle with the heavy load of college courses." It is very true that pets are a huge responsibility but is learning responsibility not part of growing up and a significant part of college. In conclusion allowing students to have pets with furr and feathers would be a great addition. However in reality President Cleere says "the school's biggiest concern are those students with allergies." So as unfortunate as it is Piedmont may never see the day where the barks of dogs and purrs of cats echo the halls of dorms.