Just don't make eye contact, Pushy solicitors infest campus

By Leslie-Ann Holt, TSC Staff

Phrases like, "Excuse me, do you have a minute?" "Just a second of your time," and "Free Gray Matter" probably sound familiar to you if you've ever walked through Benson Memorial Center. It is quite an accomplishment to get through Benson without having someone try to push some sales ploy on you. To avoid the tables of pushy salespeople one would have to detour through Market Square, but I don't think I should have to do that.

I don't mind people trying to sell me stuff. Everyone has to make a living. What I don't like is when salespeople are aggressive and rude - and I don't want to deal with them at school. They don't allow solicitors in the residence halls, and I don't like all the solicitors in Benson either. The credit card companies, cell phone companies and Internet sites are a hassle.

When I walk by without making eye contact or otherwise responding to them, that doesn't mean, "Please, get up and follow me until I buy whatever you're selling." That actually happened to a friend of mine. Not only is it rude, it can make a person very uncomfortable. That isn't the way to sell something.

Students don't come to Santa Clara to feel uncomfortable. For students who live on campus, this is our home. When a salesperson calls my home at dinner time, we either say "No thank you," or - when the person is persistent - "What part of no did you not understand?" and hang up the phone. Yet at Benson, we don't have the luxury of being able to hang up the phone. I just want to eat without being solicited.

I also hate how the bookstore gives a thousand advertisements for magazines and credit cards and all sorts of junk to students buying books. The useless fliers from the bookstore and various tables just litter the campus or clutter people's rooms and trash cans (or recycling, if you're green).

Even worse than the pushy salespeople was a table that was giving stress tests and selling books by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology. Since paying any attention to anything related to Scientology is the last thing I have time for, I didn't stop long enough to find out what exactly they were doing. I think Scientology is a joke, and I didn't come to a Jesuit school so I could be peddled self-help books by L. Ron Hubbard.

Student organizations have every right to have a table in Benson. In fact, they should have priority. I don't have to agree with every student organization, but I support them because they are there to offer students the opportunity to get involved on campus, not to make money. Benson is for students, and students at Santa Clara have diverse beliefs and traditions. If those include Scientology, I guess someone will be offended.

Maybe the school makes money off of these people - they have to pay $60 for a table. Maybe that would explain why we have all these salespeople.

I am not against all the tables in Benson. I don't mind the jewelry or posters or other craft tables. One table I thought was good was the compliment table. It was just two students giving out candy and compliments. Last quarter they had a petition people could sign to keep the Scheduling Center from charging them since they're not a recognized student organization. I don't know what happened with that, but I say they should have been allowed to keep their table free of charge. After all, they are students, and I'd rather get a compliment than some stupid flier or a pushy salesperson harassing me. I also liked when people with surveys paid students for filling one out. Time is money: If you want my time, pay me. Or just tell me I have a nice smile.