Don't Pet It Bring You Down

It’s a sunny October Thursday afternoon, and the Science Center Plaza is alive. Students perch on rocks, wooden benches, beanbags, and oversized Tetris pieces as they chow down on delicacies from nearby food trucks. The sky is bright, but the smiles of students’ faces on the adjacent lawn outshine even the sun. Why? They’re at pet therapy, of course.

Until November, a traveling farm called Animal Craze delighted Harvard students and passersby alike every Thursday at noon as part of the Common Spaces initiative. The petting zoo’s draw couldn’t have been clearer: Everyone loves baby animals. We do, too. But we also encourage zoo attendees to look beneath the surface of the institution to examine how it reflects on Harvard’s approach to student mental health.

On the one hand, animals have the well-documented potential to alleviate stress—that’s why universities have looked to dogs to calm their students during the hustle and bustle of the academic year. Given how many Harvard students struggle to maintain good mental health among the stresses of life at school, the petting zoo undoubtedly represents a step forward. Substantive change to Harvard’s mental health system—though sorely needed and obviously more important than baby pigs and bunnies—cannot come all at once. Rather, it begins with small but deliberate steps like these.

While we need to continue to engage in a discussion about the effectiveness of University Health Services, Student Mental Health Liaisons, and other large-scale mental health institutions on campus, we cannot overlook the importance of small steps like the petting zoo. Good mental health on campus is, of course, tied to the availability of resources such as counselors and therapists, and we should not abandon efforts to improve their accessibility. Yet, the individuals behind the Common Spaces Initiative were correct in recognizing that small, otherwise insignificant improvements in quality of life, such as a petting zoo, can go far to make life as a Harvard student more manageable. In an interview with the Harvard Gazette, one administration official behind the petting zoo said, “In many of our Common Spaces focus groups, students told us that when they leave their homes and come to this highly stressful environment they can feel lonely…and that a petting zoo at the plaza might help.” We applaud the Common Spaces initiatives for seeking student input, and for taking unorthodox measures to improve our experience.

The Science Center Plaza petting zoo has brought some joy to the Harvard and Cambridge communities, and we see the installation as a modest but important move toward alleviating student stress. Still, we look forward to substantial improvements in the accessibility of traditional mental health resources as well.