OP-ED
The Broadview and broadview.sacredsf.org
Thursday, March 22, 2018 | 11
A girl’s best friend
HOW WOULD A SCHOOL DOG BE BENEFICIAL?
Convent should adopt a school dog to provide stress relief. Mason Cooney
Assistant Features Editor
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rapped up in homework, tests and college preparations, students can carry an overwhelming amount of stress, overlooking their health and wellness, but a furry, eager-eyed companion may provide the quick reset students need. Forty schools in New York have implemented the Department of Education’s “Comfort Dog” program, a new approach to bringing social-emotional support to students, according to NYC Department of Education. The program works with each school to adopt a rescue dog and trains it through the Mutti-grees Curriculum. The pup is then sent to a school to work as a four-legged school counselor, providing “unconditional acceptance and warmth,” according to Jaye Murray, Executive Director of the Office of Counseling Support Programs. The program has proved incredibly successful, with 90 percent of participating educators reporting improved student behavior and 75 percent reporting an increase in student interest in school, according to a preliminary evaluation by Yale University. While the program may seem like an unlikely success, several other schools and colleges have recognized the benefits of dogs on campuses. Colleges such as University of Connecticut and Tufts University offer therapy dogs during exam season, and schools like Burgundy Farm Country Day School in Virginia allow faculty to bring in dogs everyday.
“I think that it would help a lot of people destress when there are tests and homework coming up.” — Kati Walter, freshman
Mason Cooney | THE BROADVIEW
FINDING PEACE Juniors Elizabeth O’Boyle and Camilla Sigmund take a break between exams during Dec. 2017 Finals Week to sit and watch the petting zoo. Students were invited to interact with the animals as a way of relieving stress during lunch. Considering the popularity of a petting zoo on campus during exams, the Convent community could even more benefit from a full-time school dog — simply petting one releases hormones that can play a part in elevating moods, according to UCLA Health. To cover the issue of dog allergies, some schools with therapy dogs limit them to certain areas, so all student interaction is voluntary. Reliable therapy dog organizations also keep dogs clean and up-to-date with the correct immunizations. Although the dogs in the “Comfort Dog” program live with faculty members, several therapy dog programs in San Francisco
provide dogs only for the day and cover liability insurance. Faculty members’ dogs could also be evaluated and certified as therapy dogs. Nine-to-five therapy dogs, Therapeutic Visitation Dogs, have proven successful in several nursing homes and longterm care facilities. The pups motivate patients through therapy or treatment, brighten their day or remind them of their own pet, and then return home at night. Some therapy dogs serve as great listeners, visiting primary schools to let young readers practice their fluency to a nonjudgmental ear. However the value of a patient listener is not limited to children — many
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STAFF Asha Khanna Editor-in-Chief Claire Kosewic Editor-in-Chief Cece Giarman Web Editor Grace Ainslie News Editor Claire Devereux Features Editor Mason Cooney Asst. Features Editor Josephine Rozzelle Sports Editor Olivia Mohun City Life Editor Lizzie Bruce Art Editor Cat Webb-Purkis Cartoonist Jemima Scott Photo Editor Laura Mogannam In-House Media Editor Senior Reporters Cassie Eskicioglu, Mary Perez, Jordan Russell, Gabriella Vulakh
Reporters Sophia Aeby, Arianna Nassiri, Caroline Thompson, Gray Timberlake Tracy Anne Sena, CJE Adviser
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teens can attest to the relief of venting problems to someone who will listen. Many adolescents experience unhealthy amounts of stress due to school, which if experienced for long-periods of time, can manifest in anxiety, high blood pressure and a weakened immune system, according to American Psychological Association. With the mental health benefits and stimulation accredited to therapy dogs, these pups may be a much needed addition to the community, helping students in the struggle to maintain the health and wellbeing emphasized in Goal Five of the Sacred Heart Goals and Criteria.
“I think we should have a school dog because it would be very comforting to have around during finals.” — Elizabeth O’Boyle, junior
“Some pros would be to help people destress and be able to have an outlet, but the cons would be if somebody was allergic to the dog or afraid of dogs.” — Caroline O’Connell, senior
CLAIRIFICATIONS Claire Kosewic
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“I think we should definitely have a school dog because I’ve seen a lot of articles on the internet about how pets reduce stress, and I think that’s something that could really help.” — Lila Horowitz, sophomore
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Editor-in-Chief
The power of words Immigrants are humans, too.
wo million undocumented immigrants call California home — working here, sending their children to school here, going to church here, and paying taxes here. They are decent, hard-working individuals who are essential to the economic health of the nation. Contrary to the label often used by President Donald J. Trump, they are not “illegals.” No human being is illegal. To label someone as illegal is to vilify their very existence. No person, simply by virtue of living on this Earth, is a crime. Using the word illegal replaces complex legal statuses with an inaccurate assumption of guilt. “Illegal” criminalizes their personhood. Two years ago, I heard immigration rights activist Jose Antonio Vargas speak. In his presentation, he had a slide with the words, “Apartheid was legal. The Holocaust was legal. Slavery was legal. Colonialism was legal. Legality is a measure of power, not justice.” As I watch the fiercely anti-immigrant agenda of the current presidential administration unfold, those words keep popping up in my head. The White House argues its position comes from the threat immigrants pose to national security, the impact of immigration on government resources, and concerns that presence of immigrants in the United States threatens the “economic security of vulnerable American workers.” Approximately 0.85 percent of undocumented immigrants are incarcerated, compared with about 1.53 percent of native-born citizens, ac-
cording to the Cato Institute for Public Policy Research. While that may not sound like a huge difference, it means that native-born citizens are 180 percent more likely to be incarcerated than undocumented immigrants. The labor of undocumented immigrants in California contributes about $180 billion to the economy, according to Betty T. Yee, the State Controller. Undocumented workers are often the only ones willing to do the heavy manual labor farming demands — harvests would be impossible without their contributions, which could result in a nationwide food shortage. Immigration, contrary to President Trump’s claims, has an overall positive impact on economic growth. Immigrants do not drive down wages, nor do they negatively impact employment prospects for native-born workers, according to a 2016 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Hardworking individuals who cross the border in search of a better existence don’t need ridiculing and deportation from the government. They need a system which would offer them the opportunity to become naturalized citizens. If legal immigration were possible, illegal immigration wouldn’t even be a discussion. Every person in America, save for those with Native American heritage, is an immigrant, or is descended from immigrants — it’s ironic to debate something so essential to the foundation of this country.