At ABAC, the two main points of contention between the people that manage the dorms and the people that live in them are undeclared pets and illicit substances.
According to ABAC Housing, there are approximately 45 registered emotional support animals (ESAs) on-campus this semester, and an unknown number of unregistered pets. Pets that cannot be kept full-time in a fishbowl need to be registered as ESA or service animals to be allowed to live in the dorms.
There is a common misconception among students that claiming an unregistered pet is a service animal will invoke HIPPA and prevent ABAC’s Housing Department from asking further questions. That is not true, there are questions they can ask on the spot to ascertain if the animal is trained as a service animal, as well as a list of registered service animals on campus that can be referenced against any claims.
ABAC is officially a non-smoking, alcohol-free campus, and that policy, of course, extends to the dorms. Dr. Corey Langston, ABAC’s new director of housing said that, rather than only charging students with a fine any time alcohol is found in the dorms, ABAC Housing also gives students “educations sanctions.” Those sanctions may involve students having to take a course over alcohol or do community service. Alcohol found in the dorms of students will be dumped out on-site.
If a student has contraband in the dorms that is not alcohol or alcohol paraphernalia, it can be confiscated during room inspections. Depending on the object, ABAC may hold it until the student is able to take it back home with them.
Dr. Langston said there were not any current plans to update the way room inspections are carried out, and that students could still expect to have a one-to-two-week heads-up before being inspected.
If you need to know anything more specific about ABAC’s housing policy, the 2021-2022 Guide to Residential Living is available on ABAC’s website.
