Lately it seems like you can’t walk from one class to another without having someone shove a clipboard in your face for your signature. Most of the time, it seems, they don’t even ask if you’re eligible to give your signature or take the time to explain what it is they’re gathering signatures for.
From green peace to legalizing marijuana, Mesa’s campus seems to have it all when it comes to the different purposes and organizations in which they are collecting signatures for. Many students can agree that this is rather annoying when you’re simply trying to get around campus in peace. Jessica Figueroa Rodriguez, a student here at Mesa, states, “Sometimes when the students are late to class, sometimes you have to be a little bit rude for them to stop talking to you, but um, it’s just the classes,” when asked if she considered these signature gatherers an on-campus disturbance.
When asked if she felt that the act of others gathering our signatures on campus should be banned, Figueroa Rodriguez responded with “Not exactly banned. It would be better if they just stand there and talk to them what is this about or something instead of them pushing people to do it.”
At times it’s not just the way that they make you feel pressured into signing your name onto a clipboard that makes the students feel annoyed or uncomfortable, it’s just the cause alone after they’ve finally taken the time to explain it to you. For example, some could debate that the man outside the LRC attempting to gather signatures with the purpose of legalizing marijuana is “inappropriate”. However, Figueroa Rodriguez speaks on this topic with, “I think everyone has their beliefs, so a lot of people on campus are probably really excited and a lot of others not so much. So it’s the variety.”
The overall attitude towards these signature gatherers is that they’re mostly a disturbance to the students on campus who don’t want to be bothered while getting from one place on campus to another. Figueroa Rodriguez responded with a simple “Yes,” when asked if the overall issue was that they distract you when you’re trying to get from one class to another or just simply be leaving campus.