Students at Fresno City College voiced opinions about how petitioners approach them on campus and ask them to sign documents without explaining what the petition is for or who they represent.
Petitioners are people who go on campus to collect signatures on different issues such as taxes, environmental protection and funding for institutions for citizens to vote on in future ballots.
Since Fresno City College is open to the public, petitioning is allowed on campus if signature gatherers follow specific guidelines, use designated areas and respect time restrictions outlined by the School & Colleges Services of California.
Desaraye Flores, a human services and pre-social work major at Fresno City College, sees petitioners gathering signatures on campus nearly every day.
Flores said that once, a petitioner approached her respectfully at first. But while she was signing, the petitioner started asking her personal questions and implied that her hair smelled good. She ignored the remark and completed signing the petition.
Flores said after that the petitioner asked for her Instagram handle, which she declined, then walked away. She said that it feels uncomfortable when petitioners comment on her appearance or approach her without explaining their cause.
“A lot of times, I am approached when I am rushing or when I’m hurrying to class because I’m late. I feel like I already know what type of interaction I’m going to get when I am approached, so I’m immediately drawn towards ignoring them,” Flores said.
Flores believes FCC should not allow petitioning on campus at all. While she acknowledges that petitioning can be important, she feels it doesn’t need to happen at school.
“A lot of the time, petitioners just ask, ‘Would you mind signing my petition but they won’t tell you what it is. I have to ask what it is. Sometimes I feel like they’re lying to me about what it is, so I won’t sign,” Flores said.
Jasleen Kaur, a third-year FCC student, said petitioners approached her nearly every day at the start of the semester. She said they give little to no explanations before asking students to sign petitions.
“They usually ask me something like ‘oh, do you want to tax billionaires,’ but I always feel like there is more to the story so I never want to sign anything,” Kaur said.
Kaur said she feels annoyed when approached by petitioners. She said she understands that it is their job to petition and that they’re trying to get paid, but she claimed they want her to sign something they themselves cannot explain in full context.
Kaur said she would sign if petitioners clearly explained their cause. But she said that no petitioner has been aggressive toward her and she doesn’t think FCC should enforce any new rules simply because students choose not to sign.
However, business major Elijah Towsend said that when he returned to FCC, he would see petitioners every time he got out of class, and he claimed the interactions were “aggressive.”
“Have you ever been to a dealership? It’s almost like a salesperson. As soon as they see you walking, they’re right there. I feel like ‘here we go again,’ and sometimes I feel like they make you feel obligated to sign,” Townsend said.
Towsend said he understands petitioners want to advocate for their causes, but added that there is a proper time and place for their efforts.
“If you’re going to be out and handing out petitions I think you should also be able to read body language and recognize if a person wants to sign or doesn’t want to sign,” Towsend said.
Towsend suggested that petitioners should not be allowed to approach students directly. Instead, he believes they should remain in designated areas so students can choose to approach them if interested.
Jose Luis Gallo, a pre-allied health major, said he finds it annoying when petitioners approach him directly instead of staying in a designated area.
Gallo said he encounters several petitioners twice a week, and they typically ask him to sign multiple documents each time. He thinks signature gatherers should limit the number of papers they are asking students to sign.
Gallo thinks that if they get a person to sign one paper, they should have the option to decide if they want to sign more.
“Usually, most people are too shy to say anything about it, but it should be the amount the student feels they want to sign at that moment. You can say ‘I just want to sign one’ instead of them giving you one and flipping another page and handing it to you, and then flipping another one as you’re done with that one,” Gallo said.
