University denies releasing info to solicitors

When Will Ellerbe '08 opens his mailbox in Wu Dining Hall, he expects to sift through promotional offers, credit card applications and magazine subscriptions.

"Whenever I get a piece of [junk] mail, I immediately recycle it. It's not that much of an inconvenience, but I wish I didn't get the mail in the first place," he said.

Ellerbe is hardly alone. In spite of University policies designed to prevent corporate solicitation, students are steadily bombarded by mail, email and phone calls from businesses and survey groups.

Dean of Undergraduate Students Kathleen Deignan said the University does not "release lists of student names, addresses or other information to any outside agency," but she speculated that individual students might sell campus directories to outside organizations, or be employed to send out materials themselves.

"We have statements in publications such as the Campus Directory and the Alumni Directory indicating that any use of the information contained therein for solicitation purposes is prohibited," Deignan said in an email.

Despite that ban, however, Deignan said the administration had no way of identifying students who sell directories.

Policing that kind of activity is "nearly impossible," she said.

Most of the junk mail students receive consists of credit card applications from banks such as Citibank and Bank of America, but promotional offers from magazines have appeared occasionally as well. In the fall, Playboy Magazine sent out subscription offers to hundreds of male undergraduates.

Telemarketing is another common headache for University students. Telemarketers have frequently called room phones with requests to respond to credit card offers or surveys.

Tracey Harrop '07 recalls receiving repeated calls from solicitors in her freshman year.

"It was just awful last year. They would call at nine in the morning for me and then ten minutes later for my roommate. I haven't received any calls this year but I know many freshman are getting calls from telemarketers. I wish the University could do something about this," she said.

According to "Rights, Rules and Responsibilities," the University allows solicitation from "off-campus business concerns" in only two cases:

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"1) when specifically requested to do so by a recognized University student organization or a University department or office, or 2) if they are entirely operated and originated by a member (or members) of the University community, they exist solely to serve the campus, and they are managed and operated independently of any other profit-making organization that does not exclusively serve the campus."

Citibank, one of the largest banks in America, and also one of the most frequent solicitors on campus, was reluctant to comment on its practices.

A representative from Citibank's New York office who refused to give her name would only say that the bank has an extensive mailing list that may include Princeton students.

"Our mailing list is similar to telemarketing lists. We get information from a variety of sources. If you register to vote or apply for a driver's license, we can obtain your personal information. Also, we share information with other banks. If you apply for a loan at a bank, you must check off a box if you don't want your information to be shared with a third party," she said.

The representative was unsure about whether Citibank has ever bought student directories.

"I don't know if we do that," she said. "It would be very difficult because universities have strict policies on security."

Princeton is not the only place where Citibank has been soliciting. According to Michael Poll, a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, the bank has been attempting to obtain student information through promotions in Philadelphia.

"Earlier in the year, they had a big promotion at Cosí [a cafe near Penn's campus] where students who gave their name, phone number and address would get a free sandwich," Poll said.

Upon hearing of this promotion, Ellerbe demanded similar treatment at Princeton.

"We've got their mail. Now we want our sandwiches," he said.