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SEN-8-19 A Bill to Provide Dog Bags on Campus

BILL#: SEN-8-19

 

TITLE: A Bill to Provide Dog Bags on Campus

 

SPONSOR(S): Paige Shimer, Senator-At-Large (pshimer@vols.utk.edu)

Austin Smith, Nursing Senator (asmit315@vols.utk.edu)

 

DATE: 02-03-2019

 

Whereas, with proper documentation at Student Disability Services (students) or the Office of Equity and Diversity (staff & faculty), students, faculty, and staff are permitted to have Service Animals on campus (1), and

 

Whereas, as stated in the University Housing Policy (2), students are permitted to have service animals and/or emotional support animals in their residence halls with proper documentation from Student Disability Services, and

 

Whereas, animals are permitted in outdoor areas on campus without documentation of any kind (3), and

 

Whereas, animal waste negatively impacts beautification efforts on campus, and

 

Whereas, animal waste in some cases may pose a health risk to people on campus (4), and

 

Whereas, providing dog bags on campus can significantly lessen the stress associated with having a service dog on campus, and

 

Whereas, “The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is committed to its role in the provision of equal opportunity and access in employment and education for persons with disabilities” (5),

 

Be it hereby resolved, that the University of Tennessee installs 16 dog waste receptacles at the following outdoor locations (6):

  1. Ayres North Plaza
  2. Ayres South Lawn
  3. Blueberry Falls
  4. Burchfiel Plaza – East
  5. Circle Park
  6. Engineering Quad near Ferris Hall
  7. Fiji Island
  8. Fred Brown Plaza
  9. Greve Circle
  10. Henson Hall North Lawn
  11. Hopecote Garden and Plaza
  12. HPER Plaza
  13. Humanities Amphitheater
  14. Humanities Lawn – North
  15. Mountcastle Park
  16. Natalie Haslam Music Center Front Lawn

 

And, Be it hereby resolved, that the University of Tennessee keep these receptacles stocked with dog waste bags as part of the regular waste maintenance on campus.

 

Sources:

  1. https://budget.utk.edu/fiscal-policy/animals-in-the-workplace/
  2. https://housing.utk.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/75/2018/08/Policies-Revised-Summer-2018.pdf – stated in part, “For health reasons, animals are not permitted in the halls or on the premises. The only exceptions to this policy are … (2) service animals; and (3) emotional support animals that have been approved by the Office of Student Disability Services as a reasonable accommodation for a student’s disability”
  3. https://universitytennessee.policytech.com/dotNet/documents/?docid=328&public=true – stated in part, “For reasons of liability, safety, health and sanitation, no animals of any type are allowed in any University of Tennessee, Knoxville campus owned or leased buildings”
  4. https://www.cpha.ca/human-diseases-transmitted-dog-poop
  5. https://oed.utk.edu/ada/
  6. https://maps.utk.edu/?id=314#!ct/27641