The Pitfalls of Living Near Campus

Seriously.

One of the major pitfalls in living two blocks from campus is the sheer number of people that show up at your door asking for money (because, obviously, college students are renowned for their income level. Especially those living in the smaller apartment complex).

I just turned away what may have been a perfectly legitimate fundraiser for youth because in the year and a half I've been living here, the kind of people to come to my door have been:

• A "grassroots environmental activist" getting a small donation and my signature on a petition. This was months ago, and last week I get a call after work asking if I want to become a "permanent funder" or some such. I asked them to send me some information so I could make a decision; I get an invoice in the mail for $140.
• A pushy, rude, and argumentative man from the Austin-American Statesman wanting me to get daily delivery.
  
• A set of frat boys trying to sell magazine subscriptions who started their pitch with "hi! we're participating in a 'naturally cute and cuddly' contest, so we wanted your opinion on how we look!"
• Another set of frat boys, from a different fraternity, with a different stupid pitch and a bunch of magazines I don't want. No, I do not need a year's subscription to Maxim, thank you, and that doesn't mean I want a subscription to Country Home Living, either.

All this gets mixed in with the other fundraisers and fraternity members, not to mention the pushy magazine sellers that cornered my friend who used to live in apartment #1 one evening, or the guys that tricked me into buying a year's subscription to Parenting, of all things ("it goes to a women's shelter!" my foot). And the icing on the cake is the weekly door-hangers from food services (another pizza place? great!), cleaning services (for all 550 sq. feet of my apartment?), DVD releases (I got one for a movie two weeks after it hit DVD), the Watchtower magazines conveniently "forgotten" in the laundry room, etc.

Just, bleh. I love having my own place, but if there were a way to electrify my doorknob I'd be all over that.