Senior criminal justice major Christina Dean uses the library quad as a place to relax between classes. Like many Sacramento State students and staffers, Dean&s daily routine is interrupted by solicitors trying to sell, educate and recruit passers-by.

&They usually stop me when I am in a big hurry and want to talk to me,& Dean said. &They are very persistent, but I typically don&t pay much attention to them.&

Many students are quite rushed for time when they are on campus bouncing from class to class. With breaks between classes as short as 15 minutes, it&s difficult for students to stop and listen to solicitors explain their causes.

Dean added that she&s even less interested if the solicitors are stopping her to ask for any type of financial contribution or donation.

Sac State policy states that on-campus solicitation is subject to &reasonable regulation by the campus president& to determine whether the solicitation is in violation of campus rules. The policy also states that soliciting shall be limited to the edge of the walkways adjacent to the library quad, main quad and the Guy West Plaza. Certain forms of solicitation require appointments that are limited to one per day, and the solicitation may not interfere with the normal operation of the campus.

Junior Mark Lalich said that he prefers it when solicitors hand him a flier rather than delaying him from getting around campus by having a conversation.

&If I can help out, sometimes I will. I can&t always sit there and listen to what they have to say,& Lalich said. &There&s lots of information on TV and other places, but being on campus isn&t the best place to get your point across.&

Lalich is also a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at Sac State and said that soliciting on campus has been effective at getting involvement.

&(TKE) passes out fliers for events, and it&s one of the best ways to get results,& Lalich said. &It&s a really good way to let people know what&s going on.&

Senior criminal justice major Michelle Sawa is sometimes irritated by the solicitors and has made an effort to avoid them in the past.

&A couple of years ago, there was soliciting and protesting in the library quad,& Sawa said. &I completely avoided the library quad area and walked around campus to get to class. I&m smart enough to make up my own mind and don&t always like my day disrupted.&

While students do have a right to ignore or listen to these solicitors, students must realize solicitors have the right to be on campus. It&s OK not to listen to what they have to say, but remember to be polite and respect those who are only asking for your help. Maybe someday they can return the favor.

8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;

Curtis Grima can be reached at [email protected]