Exclusive | Gen Z students move emotional support pets into dorm rooms — to cope with the ‘trauma’ of college: ‘Really comforting’

In dorm rooms across America, college students used to go at it like rabbits. Now, they house the cutesy animals instead.

As Gen Z forgoes sex, drugs, and alcohol, youngsters are instead spending their time on campus tending to emotional support pets.

Students are housing dogs, cats, rabbits, and guinea pigs in their dorm rooms in record numbers, per the Associated Press, making college in 2025 less ménage à trois — and more menagerie.

“College is such a traumatic experience in the way of you’re getting ripped away from everything you knew before, being thrown in with people you don’t know — especially if you grew up with pets, being so isolated from everything you knew,” recent Marist College grad Sam Gaskins, 24, told The Post.

For three of Gaskins’ four years on the Hudson Valley campus, the animal lover — who is non-binary — bunked down with their beloved bunny, Penelope Rose.

“From junior year on, she was there with me at school, and when I was freaked out about a test or struggling to find motivation, she’d kind of just pop her little head up and hop over and just be there,” the New Jersey native said.

“It was really comforting to have another presence, and she definitely made me feel at home,” the animal lover added. “I had to feed her, had to change her water, make sure her area was clean, and in doing all of that, it kind of forced me to make sure the same was true for me, because if I don’t take care of me, I can’t take care of her.”

Different colleges have different rules regarding what pets are allowed in residence, but emotional support animals do have legal protections under the Fair Housing Act — as they would in other spots where pets would typically be banned.

At NYU, for instance, emotional support animals can be housed in student accommodation, but the college clearly notes that owners “are responsible for assuring that the animal does not pose a threat to the health or safety of others, create an unreasonable disturbance, or fundamentally alter the character and purpose of the academic and/or residential environment.”

They also make clear that “excessive noises and disruptive behaviors—such as repeated barking and whining, chewing and scratching, or aggression—are not permitted.”

At Columbia, meanwhile, emotional support animals are also allowed, but students must submit documentation of their disability, as outlined in the college’s disability registration guidelines.

For some schools like Eckerd College in Florida, pets are part of the experience — the liberal arts school has had furry friend-friendly dorms since 1973.

Sophie Nocera, an Eckerd senior, said her dog Zuko helps her keep perspective in light of the difficulties of college.

“I remember coming back to my dorm and just melting to the floor, and Zuko was right there,” the 21-year-old told the AP. “And I remember thinking, whatever happens tomorrow, I’m going to wake up, and I’m going to take him to the dog park. And, we’re going to go play fetch regardless of what my major is.”

Meanwhile, Molly Cheer, a senior nursing major from the University of Northern Colorado, similarly says coming back to her dorm room to her adopted cat, Louie, helps dampen school stress.

“Whenever I’m feeling stressed or overwhelmed, I pick him up and cuddle him, and he just deals with it for as long as I need it,” Cheer stated.

Having Fido or a feline in a dorm room could potentially create a plethora of problems.

What happens, for example, if a suitemate suffers from an allergy or a roomie’s hound interrupts a hot hookup? Despite the potential pet pitfalls, it appears many are enamored by the emotional support animals brought in by their peers.

“When your roommate gets their cat approved as an emotional support animal and your dorm immediately becomes 100x better,” an Oregon college student named Emma wrote in a recent TikTok video that went viral.