Residents of Lambeth Field Apartments and the International Residential College have reported several incidents of illegal solicitation in past weeks.
University Police Capt. Michael Colemansaid the first reported incident occurred March 29 in Lambeth. His department received the report April 7.
According to Coleman, some students made donations to an organization which residents now think could be fraudulent, but authorities are unsure of the organization's legitimacy. Students reported the solicitations soon after they made the donations, believing the solicitors to be disingenuous. The solicitors "said half the money from the sales would go to a hospital of their choice," Coleman said.
According to Coleman, the company the solicitors claimed to be representing is legitimate; the solicitors, however, may not actually be working for that company.
IRC Senior Resident Yusra Shawar said occurrences of illegal soliciting are not exclusive to Lambeth, explaining that similar incidents have occurred at the IRC.
"There was an incident where some guys came and talked to some residents," Shawar said. "One of the residents was concerned because they were approached at an absurd hour at night [by someone]selling a magazine in a dorm hallway."
After being notified of this by another resident advisor, Shawar sent an e-mail to IRC residents warning them not to let strangers into their buildings.
"I found out about the situation and [knowing] Lambeth experienced something similar, I put one and one together and I felt I should inform the students at the IRC," she said. "The onus is on the residents now to be alert."
She added that students should look out for each other.
Assistant Dean of Students Jason Shaffer said students should not let anyone sell anything to them because soliciting in on-Grounds housing is illegal.
"Solicitation is prohibited in University residence areas," Shaffer said. "If a student is feeling unsafe we encourage them to call the police."
-- Max Hall contributed to this article
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