from dailynorthwestern.com
By Miranda Viglietti
Michael Simms returns to the Sigma Chi house after class to greet Parks, his prickly roommate. Parks, a hedgehog, is a new occupant of the fraternity house’s third floor.
While residential housing prohibits animals of any kind, some fraternities, sororities and off-campus housing allow students to own pets. In Sigma Chi, residents are merely limited on the type of pets they can have.
“He’s kind of cuddly,” the McCormick sophomore said. “If you’re stressed out, he plays around, and he puts you in a better mood.”
Simms said he wanted a pet because they are fun and add character to his living situation. So far, Simms said he hasn’t encountered problems taking care of Parks.
“My roommate loves him too and takes care of him almost as much as I do,” Simms said.
Parks recently had his picture taken for Sigma Chi’s composite photo and is named after James Parks Caldwell, one of the fraternity’s founders.
Simms said he got the idea to have a pet hedgehog when he visited Thee Fish Bowl, 600 Dempster St., a pet store in Evanston.
Elena Moss, sales manager at Thee Fish Bowl, said Betta fish, hamsters, gerbils and goldfish are among the most popular pets for college students. She said people living off-campus sometimes branch out by getting reptiles such as geckos and corn snakes.
“When they live in their own apartment, people get all sorts of stuff,” Moss said.
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