About a year ago, I was walking to class without a care in the world when suddenly, I was approached by a solicitor carrying a clipboard.
“Hey, miss, can you come by and sign this petition?” the solicitor asked.
I politely declined. I’m sure it was for a good cause, probably, but I didn’t have the time to stop and chat – this was not the case for the solicitor. He pulled up beside me, practically pushing the petition in my face to sign.
“I’m really late to class,” I explained. “I’m sorry, I have to go.” Our exchange continued like this for a good bit – at least half-way to my class – until the solicitor finally gave up and left me alone. My experience wasn’t necessarily unique.
Fatima Hernandez, a second-year dance student, was walking to class on March 7th, 2024 when an anti-abortion activist approached her with a pamphlet. After being pressed for her opinion on the topic, Hernandez told the activist that she didn’t have time to talk but would come back later. According to Hernandez, the activist’s tone and demeanor suggested that she wasn’t too happy with that response.
“They should be able to let you go, but they don’t,” Hernandez said. “They stand in your way and they don’t allow you to keep walking.”
Don’t get me wrong: I’m all for people exercising their First Amendment rights. CSUDH is a public university and open for solicitation. Plus, it should be noted that there definitely are solicitors on campus who are respectful and abide by the university’s Time, Place, and Manner policy, which allows them to be here so long as they do not “disrupt the educational process, or other operations of the University, or infringe on the rights of others, or engage in unlawful acts.” Solicitors who do not follow these guidelines are subject to removal by Campus Police.
Still, it’s annoying to be stopped (and sometimes pestered) while you’re trying to go about your day. You’ll be walking down the East Walkway, minding your business, when you notice a group of solicitors 50-yards away, so you go out of your way to avoid them. You take a detour around the Social & Behavioral Sciences building but even that doesn’t work.
“Hey! Are you registered to vote?”
“I really like your shirt! Do you have two minutes to talk about…?”
“Hello, can you sign this petition about…?”
I’m sure there are Toros who respect the hustle, but a lot of us are just trying to get to class on time.
“It feels overwhelming, when you are trying to go somewhere,” said Marisol Garcia, a freshman Design student.
Solicitors aren’t leaving anytime soon, but I don’t think I’m out of pocket when I say that, yeah, it is overwhelming to be asked to put your name behind an issue you may not know too much about. And then for there to be cases in which solicitors approached students in an aggressive manner, it’s just not okay. A lot of students are already managing a full plate – classes, work, family matters or personal issues – their minds are likely preoccupied with things other than whatever they’re being asked to sign and support.
For any solicitors who just so happen to read this, I’m neither mad at you nor do I have anything against you. But just ease up a bit and maybe consider changing your approach while on campus. Don’t badger students who are taking a breather between classes or chatting with their friends or visibly in a hurry to make it across campus. Or at the very least, come up with some creative and clever ways to catch my attention and tell me more about the topic you want me to care about.
You might just end up landing a few more signatures with sweet words rather than sour tactics.
