Colleges and universities have traditionally had tough policies about not allowing students to have pets, but as a growing number of students are saying they need emotional support animals, the schools are beginning to loosen restrictions. The trend has been seen as there's been a rising number of students with anxiety and depression, or at least a rise in them reporting it. Critics say the policies can easily be open to abuse, and colleges have to strike the right balance between allowing emotional-support animals and addressing the concerns of students who have allergies or animal phobias. While some colleges and universities have embraced the idea of emotional support animals for students, others are allowing it because they feel they have to under the law. The Fair Housing Act says that people with disabilities may ask for a reasonable accommodation for service animals, including emotional support animals, and the American with Disabilities Act bans discrimination based on disability. There have been cases when schools were sued and had to pay tens of thousands of dollars in settlements to students after refusing to allow their emotional support animals