SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Most college dormitory policies clearly state "no pets allowed," but that's no longer the case at Saint Mary's College.
In an attempt to attract more seniors to live on campus, the college now allows seniors living in Regina South to keep dogs that weigh less than 30 pounds and cats.
So far, four cats and two dogs have taken up dormitory residence with another dog on the way, said Janielle Tchakerian, assistant vice president of Student Affairs and director of Residence Life and Community Standards.
"It has been going really well so far," Tchakerian told the South Bend Tribune. "The pets have adjusted well."
The change in policy came about after Tchakerian and her colleagues brainstormed on ways to keep fourth-year students from moving off campus. The college requires students to live on campus their first six semesters.
"What we did was look at some of the reasons why our seniors chose to live off campus versus on campus," Tchakerian said.
One reason, they found, was that students could keep their pets off campus.
"We really looked on campus to see if we could offer that," Tchakerian said. "We already had a building that was being underutilized, and we said that we could easily make that space pet friendly, which we did."
Early results suggest the college is achieving its goal. In the past, about 50 percent of the seniors lived on campus, but this fall that number increased to 74 percent, Tchakerian said.
One senior remaining on campus is Cassandra Jerkovic, a chemistry major, who is living with her dog, Daisy.
"It's relaxing," Jerkovic said. "I think you need to have an established relationship with your pet before moving in and know that it is a big responsibility, but it is also a great experience."
Jerkovic adopted Daisy after the beagle was found wandering in woods near where she lived.
Daisy and the other Regina South pets are required to be registered with the Residence Life office, spayed or neutered and up-to-date on shots.
The school partnered with Morris Animal Hospital and Dr. Robert Memmen.
"They even came and spoke to the students about pets adjusting, because none of the pets have ever lived in this kind of setting," Tchakerian said.
Some faculty members had concerns about the new policy because offices and classrooms are located in the hall. Tchakerian noted there was also the "fear of the unknown."
"This building is not just a residence hall, and one of the fears that some people had was that there were going to be pets everywhere," Tchakerian said. "That has been proven to be completely false."
The reason for permitting only upper-level students to keep pets is because of the maturity level, Tchakerian said.
"It's a privilege, and that is why we don't offer this to freshmen or sophomores," Tchakerian said.
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