Spare change with caution

There’s really no better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than knocking on dorm-room doors begging for spare change.

Surprisingly, students are quite responsive to this form of solicitation, handing over cash with a startling lack of hesitation. Even if it’s just a few bucks, it’s important to know where your money is going and what you are supporting.

My friend and I decided to do the AIDS Walk last weekend and wound up raising over $170 by knocking on our neighbors’ doors. It was either that or a lemonade stand.

Considering the stereotype of the starving college student, I didn’t expect to raise very much money, but I was pleasantly surprised. Many generous students donated $5 or even $10, while most gave at least some quarters. I want to also thank the many people who gave a handful of pennies ““ those were fun to count.

No matter how much money they donated, however, students across the board asked ridiculously few questions about what we were doing. There was literally just one person who pressed us for details about our fundraising efforts. He asked whether we were affiliated with a group on campus, when the event was and why we were participating. After he was satisfied, he donated a few dollars.

The fact that nobody seemed to care about where their money (or more likely their parents’ money) was going did make life a lot easier for us. All we had to do was knock, say we were raising money for the AIDS Walk and collect. It did, however, make me worry about the judgment of my dorm neighbors.

Of course, if students are strapped for cash, they could always exploit the seemingly blind generosity of their peers. Need some spending money and don’t want to trudge down to the ATM? Just knock on doors and ask for spare change. Chances are, your fellow students would rather satisfy you with some dough than have to awkwardly refuse, or listen to some spiel about an organization.

Luckily, my friend and I were legitimately raising money for the AIDS Walk, because we could have conned our floors big-time. I guess it was our trusting smiles that let people know we were legitimate.

Overall, the whole experience was quite eye-opening. First of all, it acquainted me with many people on my floor whom I had never even seen before. I definitely met some characters from the building, including the guy who donated a token from the dining hall, or the girl who was sleeping at 3 p.m. and came out in furry pajamas.

I never realized the diversity that exists within my residence hall. After we knocked on one room’s door, we were stared down by three boys sitting at their computers with headphones. After we asked for donations, two of them simply turned their heads back to their screens. The third studious roommate (or video game addict) looked blankly at us for the longest humanly possible pause before curtly saying “no” and turning back to his beloved monitor.

On the other end of the spectrum, one room was blasting Kelly Clarkson music so loudly that we could hear it from the other end of the hall. When we interrupted the little dance party, the girls were more than happy to contribute by hurriedly pressing a few dollars in my hand. I guess they didn’t care what we wanted as long as we didn’t stop their jam session for more than a few seconds.

After putting people into socially awkward situations, trying to remember which rooms we had already been to and complaining about the superiority of other floors’ themed decorations, we gathered up the money and called it quits. I’m proud of the bigheartedness of the dorm residents, yet I caution them to not always be so forthright with their cash.

After all, in today’s economy, you never know when you might need those five emergency dollars.

Want to learn how to pressure strangers into emptying their pockets? E-mail Goodrich at [email protected]. Send general comments to [email protected]