Policy changes for credit card vendors to protect students

Ryan A. Mihalyi Arizona Daily Wildcat Credit card vendors are on the prowl once again with the start of the new school year and many students willingly sign up for the card and get free shirts.

A policy change, motivated by calls from concerned parents, requires vendors inside the Memorial Student Union and on the UA Mall to give out a flyer explaining spending responsibilities and risks of possessing a credit card.

"(The flyer) is for the protection of the students," said Diane Newman, the commercial and Mall activity coordinator.

A lot of students sign-up for a card because the vendor is giving them free incentives and as a result they get into debt, Newman said.

The double-sided flyer, designed by the Student Union Marketing office, urges students to "read this first" before applying for or using a credit card. Information on the flyer was supplied by the Consumer Credit Counseling Services Southwest Bureau. The consumer bureau offers free and confidential advice to those with financial problems.

The idea to create a flyer, Newman said, was decided on by a committee of seven Student Union administration members, following conversations with student groups around the country. She said the University of Arizona is not doing anything innovative by handing out flyers, but simply following the lead of other universities around the country cracking down on vendors.

Daniel Bujanda, an environmental sciences senior, said campus solicitation is one way credit card vendors get new customers and help students to build a credit history. As far as the flyer is concerned, Bujanda said he does not think it will decrease overspending by students.

"It's more of a deterrent to the solution than solving the problem."

It is not the fault of the vendors that students get into debt, he said, students need to be responsible for their own spending.

"They're punishing the credit card vendors when the students need to be re-informed," Bujanda said.

Various other policy changes for vendors were decided upon over the summer. Beginning in January, all vendors on the Mall will be charged $50 a day to operate. Another policy change will require vendors inside the Union to pay $50 a day for a daily supply of the consumer credit flyers. The fee, $150 a day, for operating inside the Union will not change.

Joy Florence, Designs from the Heart vendor, was on the Mall over the summer months, and said the $50 a day fee does not seem too bad. Florence was selling homemade crafts, such as knitted bookmarks.

"It's going to be cheaper than a lot of other places," she said, citing the Fourth Avenue Street Fair's $325 fee as an example.