Miles is an ESA prescribes to me by doctors and helps me function. Just over a year ago I brought Miles into my life after a suicide attempt. I wouldn’t eat, sleep, participate in my class, and talked to almost no one. After Miles came into my life I immediately had my life changed. Miles wouldn’t let me stay in bed all day. He forced me to get up, he forced me to get outside and see the sun. He forced me to live. For over a year Miles has been force of movement that has helped me battle my mental illnesses and personality disorder: extreme depression, anxiety, and borderline personality disorder.) Without Miles I fall back into that dark place where I can’t function. I begin rotting my life away. Removing Miles from my living situation is discrimination to my disabilities and health. I can not live a “normal” life without Miles and being forced to do puts me in danger of my own disabilities. This is known information given to residential life at Tennessee Tech. Even though Mikes is an approved ESA, he is being forcefully removed from me. By removing him, Residential Life is choosing to ignore my disabilities and discrimination me, my health, and my right to an education. 

Miles is a purebred Pembroke corgi, his rare coloration caused a development that lead his vision to be unclear. He needs help getting around. In addition to this, an accident occurred before he came to me and his left eye was scratched. Causing his eye to have permeant damage. Because of this impairment Miles needs support and assistance in his everyday life. He needs help finding his way around and needs constant attention because he fears being alone with potential threats.

Due to his visual impairment, Miles is sensitive to noise. Especially noises like loud screaming, knocking, excessive beeping, and hard bass noises (like heavy bass music.) These noises scare him and cause him to react by barking to alarm me, his owner and caretaker, that something is wrong and he’s afraid. This causes living situations to be a bit difficult. With patience and understanding I work with Miles to help him adjust to his living space and the everyday noises we can not avoid. But when someone goes out of their way to bother him this is a threat to him, as well as harassment to me disabilities by provoking his removal.

When living in a residential space at Tennessee Tech with an ESA, students are asked to sign a contract stating they are responsible for the care and concerns of their animal. This contract allows stands to allow Tennessee Tech to remove an ESA if a problem occurs. I was asked to sign this contract on Monday, August 31st. Directly after signing, I was told that complaints had been made against by Miles and that this was my only, and final, warning. This was just the second week of classes for the semester. An animal moving into a new living space needs time to adjust to a new home, especially being that Miles is blind this proves difficult. I asked for patience with this factor and was given none. When the news of complaints were given to me I mutually expressed my concerns with numerous occasions where someone loudly knocked on my door, then fled, presumably playing ding-dong-ditch. These events happening from the times 6am to 3am. Well out of the enforced quiet hours all residential building have, those hours being from 10pm to 10am on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thrusday, Friday mornings, and Sundays (hours vary during busy academic times such as finals week.) Because of Miles’s disability I had written not one, but two signs in my door so other residence in my hall would not disturb Miles or I. These signs were ignored. The harassment continued. I was told by staff that this issue would be investigated but nothing had been done to cease the harassment. On Friday September 4th, I was asked to remove Miles from the residential building due to another complaint, despite continues harassment against myself and Miles. I was told that I should look into off campus housing that would allow me to have Miles. This would make since but where is anyone supposed to find a new home, that allows pets and understand the situation, within less than 5 days. Nevertheless, get finances in order for this new place. Which isn’t possible to do considering I do not have a job due to the COVID-19 pandemic and being a full time students. My housing, along with tuition, is payed for by personal payments, federal funding, and loans. That funding does NOT cover off campus housing or bills unrelated to my college education. I am unable to find housing off campus due to this. 

 With this petition I am attempting to appeal this decision