RESOLUTION 34

A RESOLUTION TO BE ENTITLED

An act to URGE reforms To the commercial SOLICITATION REGULATION

WHEREAS,    many commercial vendors solicit students on various campus location to sign up for credit cards, magazine subscriptions, mobile phone plans, etc. during the academic year; and,

WHEREAS,    the solicitation process often includes an exchange of a gift as an enticement for a credit card application or subscription plans; and,

WHEREAS,    many student organizations and university groups partner up with these vendors as their fund raiser, without considering the potential harm that it may cause for members of the NCSU community; and,

WHEREAS,    members of sponsoring student organizations or university groups are often not present at the commercial solicitation tables set up by vendors outside of the NCSU community; and,

WHEREAS,    vendors from outside the NCSU community tends to be less knowledgeable about university policies, and often show disrespect to pedestrians who pass by but not interested in their products or services; and,

WHEREAS,    solicitation policies tends to be more difficult to enforce when members from the sponsoring student group or university group are not present, as penalties and consequences are limited for individuals from outside the NCSU community; and,

WHEREAS,    proper education and usage of credit cards can help a student establish a sound credit history; and,

WHEREAS,    credit card vendors most often do not distribute education materials along with their applications; and,

WHEREAS,    the Student Legal Services of North Carolina State University provides information on credit card counseling; and,

WHEREAS,    education and information about credit card use will help reduce the amount of debt that students have at the end of college; and,

WHEREAS,    the current university regulation regarding to commercial solicitation (REG 07.25.12 section V part A) does not require the sponsoring student organizations or university groups to be present at the solicitation site, nor are there policies requiring credit card vendors to educate their applicants how to use their credit cards; now therefore be it,

RESOLVED,  by the North Carolina State University Student Senate that the following sub-section is urged to be added to the university regulation REG07.25.12 section V part A, for the benefit and protection of members of the NC State Community:

1 c) At least one member from the sponsoring University or Student Group must be present at the solicitation site, ensuring that all university policies and regulations are followed. In addition, if the commercial vendor provides credit card applications, members from the sponsoring University or Student Group have the responsibility to distribute credit card education materials provided by Student Legal Services or Campus Activities.

and, be it further

RESOLVED, that the North Carolina State University Student Senate calls for an updated credit card education material to be published periodically by collaboration between the following university departments: Student Legal Services, Campus Activities, Counseling Center, and Financial Aid; and, be it further

RESOLVED, that the North Carolina State University Student Senate calls for a nominal fee to be charged for obtaining a commercial solicitation permit to offset the cost of credit card education publications.