Change Graham Center!

I Wish They Would (FIU)

I may be alone in my belief, but it is my belief and I feel I must express it. I wish the main hallway in the Graham Center wasn't always the marathon of avoiding solicitations it is every day. I understand that many great organizations spread their word this way, but couldn't it be somewhere else? I have to pass through the Graham Center every day and I'm constantly being stopped by people that want me to take a survey or contribute to their cause. “Buy a cookie to stop Al-Qaeda?” No honey, not today. Not ever. “Would you like to take a survey about urinal cakes?” Why would anyone?

I recognize my complaint is an utterly selfish one. I'm almost definitely overreacting, but I feel there is some truth in my words. Perhaps I get approached more than other people. I've always felt I'm pretty easily approachable. Maybe I'm just not very menacing, and people don't feel threatened to take some of my time. Even more troubling, I think I may be partially to blame for all the solicitations I receive as I pass through GC. Regrettably, I often make eye contact with people who are selling sweets or recruiting for clubs as I barrel through the crowd (Barrel might be a bit much. Maybe more like: get pushed around by people taller than me). I believe this eye contact leads them to think I may be interested. Spoiler alert! I am not.

Okay, so maybe I'm being a bit harsh. I'm sure those clubs and organizations do quite a bit of good and need GC to spread their word. However, I believe many would agree that party and club promoters have no place in the Graham Center. Of course, college is a time for partying and revelry of all sorts, but one of the most frequented buildings in the university should not be used as promotional space for things like a “Bro Safari”. I'm not making that one up. I have no idea what a “Bro Safari” is, but I already see bros in their natural habitat daily, so such an event is really unnecessary. At the risk of sounding too ready for compromise, I think that there should at least be some monitoring of the kind of things being promoted in the Graham Center- not because I think they're inappropriate or crass, but because they annoy me. Is that a selfish view? Probably. Will anyone listen to me? I wish they would.