Tea at Trianon: Pet Therapy for College Students

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Pet Therapy for College Students

For thousands of years it has been known that pets bring comfort to humans. Science has confirmed the healing that a pet can bring to a traumatized person. But some of what passes for therapy is questionable, especially among college students. The question is: why do so many young people, at the most exciting time of their lives, think they need therapy? From LifeZette:

Animal-assisted therapy — in other words, sessions with dogs — is what the University of North Texas (UNT) is now offering its student body. Dog-facilitated workshops started in the spring of 2017 and are now part of the campus culture. Sponsored by UNT’s Counseling and Testing Services team, these sessions are designed to help students enhance their mood and mitigate anxiety while petting therapy dogs.

Students can choose from among three canine workshops. The first session is called "Healing Arts with Rockstar the Dog," in which students pet Rockstar while completing an art project designed to increase self-awareness, compassion, and gratitude. The second session is entitled "Dog Breath" and allows students to hug Buddy while learning skills to relieve stress and manage anxiety. A third session will begin next month — it will show clips of the television show "The Office" and provide students with the opportunity to cuddle therapy dogs as they "learn to form healthy relationships and increase coping skills," according to a UNT advertisement.

Buddy (a poodle), Rockstar (a terrier mix), Dakota (a yellow Labrador retriever), and Willow (a chocolate Labrador retriever) make up the roster. The overall goal is for students to "learn skills that can be used to relieve stress and manage anxiety while spending time with a loveable pet," according to a campus flyer. (Read more.)