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Fall '03 Edition
Get free stuff, get a credit card, help out a student organization and get a headache. Sound good?
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Get free stuff, get a credit card, help out a student organization and get a headache. Sound good?
topic started 8/21/03; 7:35:44 PM
last post 8/21/03; 7:35:44 PM
Kristen Palmer - Get free stuff, get a credit card, help out a student organization and get a headache. Sound good?
8/21/03; 7:35:44 PM (reads: 4522, responses: 0)Lindsey J. Mastis
Daily Egyptian
Free offers may sound great, but many students do not realize the effects that come along with filling out credit card applications.
Although signing up for credit cards benefits organizations, debt and stolen cards can soon follow.
Katherin Sermersheim, director of Student Development, said the credit card companies are allowed to solicit students on campus as long as they have a permit and co-sponsor with a Registered Student Organization.
The SIUC rugby team had a credit card fundraiser to get money for their team. A credit card fundraiser helps RSOs raise money by receiving a certain amount of money per credit card application that is filled out. The rugby team tries to encourage students to fill out credit card applications, and, in return, applicants receive a free item.
Nicholas Hosni, a junior in outdoor recreation from Downers Grove, said the rugby team relies on fundraisers because they do not get much money from the school.
„It‚s been incredible,‰ he said. „People are just coming in and filling it out, and it just helps us out.‰
Hosni may have encouraged passing students to apply for credit cards, but he is not sure if he will apply for one himself.
„I‚m not good with credit cards,‰ he said.
Hosni is not sure how much money the team will receive from the fundraiser, but he said it should be substantial enough to spend his time in the heat asking students to sign-up.
Sermersheim said the amount of money per application given to the RSO is negotiated with the credit card company. She estimates it at being an average of $1 per application.
„I think we have to find a healthy balance between helping RSOs being able to capitalize on this fundraising opportunity and help students today have a grasp of the fiscal commitments that they make,‰ she said. „Unfortunately, that‚s part of an independence spree that a student goes through, and they think having credit cards means ŒI‚m an adult,‚ and obviously that‚s a dangerous thought.‰
Miten Patel, a junior in engineering from India, decided not to apply for a credit card to get a free T-shirt because he had previously signed up for too many cards when he came to the University two years ago.
„When I started applying, I had 10 or 15 of them, and then I started slowly getting rid of them,‰ he said. „Initially, I kept on applying Σ not only the free stuff, but it was fun to use credit cards and not have to pay at that time. I kept on spending it and then I had so much to pay off.‰
Some students fill out applications incorrectly so that they will still receive free gifts without the burden of a credit card.
Deandra Evans, a freshman in pre-law from Chicago, signed up for her second card Tuesday. She said she wanted the T-shirt but will probably cut up the card when it arrives in the mail.
„I don‚t use them,‰ she said. „I just want a shirt Σ You can get this, you can fill out your credit card application and get your shirt, and when you get the card, you can spend like crazy but that‚s what you‚re going to do.‰
But some students use the credit cards. Larry Dietz, vice chancellor and associate professor, said he is concerned about students getting into debt but believes students should have the choice to sign up for a credit card just as RSOs should have the opportunity to make money through the fundraisers.
Artur Debecki, a freshman in education from Lake Zurich, said that because he already has a credit card, he is not as tempted to take advantage of the free offers.
„It‚s not interesting to me,‰ he said. „The little voice in the head says that you have to pay for that. It‚s just trash. I just rip it up and throw it out Σ so that [thieves] don‚t find it and sign up for it.‰
One potential problem that does not always cross the minds of students is credit card fraud. Community Resource Officer Dan Reed said forgeries and the unlawful use of credit cards is very common in Carbondale. And because many students do not live in the same location every year, the card may be sent to the wrong person.
„A lot of new students are getting their cards for the first time, or they‚re bombarded just like the rest of us with the pre-approved [cards] they send us,‰ Reed said.
Because of the incentives, many students will sign up with the intention of cutting up the card when it arrives. But sometimes, students forget that they have a credit card on the way.
A student does not have to sign up for a card to be at risk of having it stolen, Reed said. Credit card applications that are usually thrown away as junk mail can become the tool for identity theft. Reed says destroying the application through shredding could help keep thieves from taking the information out of the trash. He said there are many things students can do to prevent a person from using their identity to purchase items.
„We recommend not having your social security number printed on your checks,‰ Reed said. „There is really no reason or need to have your driver‚s license printed on them either. A lot of people think it‚s very handy to have it on there because they know people are going to ask for that kind of thing, but make them ask.‰
Reporter Lindsey J. Mastis can be reached at ljmastis@dailyegyptian.com
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