Avery Adelini is a biological sciences freshman and political opinion columnist for Mustang News. The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang Media Group.
Cal Poly’s University Union isn’t the same without people at random booths pestering you for attention. Sometimes it’s ASI, sometimes it’s Greek life but other times it’s a guy with a clipboard rambling off a rehearsed speech while shoving a pen into your hand and asking for your signature.
Their brief, buzzword-full rushed pitches aren’t great indicators of credibility. These types of petition booths on Cal Poly’s campus, while not all necessarily harmful or badly intentioned, should be treated with caution and skepticism upon encounter. These booths are trying to receive as many signatures as they can, and if they can rush you into signing something, they will, whether or not you even know what you’re supporting.
My first experience with one of the groups came at the beginning of Winter Quarter. I was walking to my dorm when a man holding a sheet of paper and a pen approached me. He asked if he could have my signature to help “support hungry kids with cancer under corrupt governments,” (yes, this was actually what he said) while pointing quickly at the signature section.
I just stood there for a second and mumbled a quick “No, thank you” before walking away.
“Fine. They really need your help, but fine,” the man said, as I continued my walk back to my dorm.
The three elements to many of these mysteriously aligned petition booths are as follows: a purposefully vague pitch, attention-grabbing buzzwords and a guilt-tripping attempt at those who refuse. They don’t tell you anything about what their organization does or even who they are. It’s because they normally aren’t there for the cause, but because they’re being paid just to get signatures for a variety of petitions.
This specific combination is exactly how they draw people in. I mean, you’ve gotta be a special kind of evil to turn down assisting hungry kids with cancer under corrupt governments, right? They’ve also come to campus to petition for things like increasing billionaire taxes and making it harder to raise taxes in California (contradictory, I know).
You might see similar pleas outside grocery stores or in malls, but college campuses are also easy signature farms. A group of newly independent people itching to exercise their newfound “adult power” is the exact audience that petition booths target.
It’s important to remember that these booths aren’t on campus because they are deeply moved to act on lowering taxes or helping kids with cancer. Maybe they happen to, but I’d bet they’re much more likely to be motivated by a paycheck. Many of these booths operate on a quota or commission system, meaning they get paid by the number of signatures they gather.
That’s why these booths want you to sign so many petitions with so many (potentially contradicting) goals. To them, it’s not about the mission; it’s all about getting you to sign.
I remember how excited I was to vote for the very first time during the special election in November. I felt like a real adult with real responsibilities and an ability to make a difference. This rather naive excitement is what can lead students in my position to sign things that they don’t fully understand, despite having a well-intentioned goal to make a positive difference.
There will be some petitions you’d like to support, some that confuse you and some you disagree with. It’s your job to figure out which is which by reading them carefully. It’s ok to say you don’t want to sign or to hold up the line while you actually read the entire petition.
Getting to participate in the civic process is exciting, but it also carries extreme responsibility. In the same way in which you might feel betrayed by voting for a candidate who misled you, carelessly signing one of these petitions could bring you guilt down the road.
The next time you get approached, I encourage you to think critically about signing. Ask the person what organization they’re with. Take a picture and fully read through the petition. Only then can you make an informed decision whether to sign.
Exercise your newfound “adult power” with caution and critical thinking when interacting with these booths. Understand that their goal is to get something from you (a signature, email address, etc), and that you don’t have to fall into the impressionable college student stereotype that they’re counting on you to be. The man with the clipboard isn’t going anywhere, so it’s up to you to decide how you’ll respond. Use critical thinking and make sure that the decisions you’re making are ones that