Nearly 30,000 UC Davis students have signed ‘Potter Hall is BAD’ petition
Regardless of your stance on the campus petitioners, the ‘Potter Hall is BAD’ initiative has united all UC Davis students under a common cause
By DOMENICA PELOSO — features@theaggie.org
On March 7, the UC Davis Student Housing and Dining Services team sent out an email titled “Non-Affiliated Individuals Soliciting in Housing Areas” — which reminded Aggies of their free will when it comes to signature-hungry petitioners.
For context, UC Davis students experienced a surge in petitioners near housing facilities, dining halls and the Memorial Union (MU) during winter quarter 2026. But, what makes these solicitors especially memorable is their seemingly too-good-to-be-true petitions and brazen pushiness.
“bro i feel like the petitioners by the MU have become especially annoying within the last couple of weeks,” Reddit user salzberg1 said. “i literally have to walk a whole different route to avoid being harassed its so frustrating."
These signature-gatherers tend to lure unsuspecting students in with the simple question, “Are you registered to vote?” — to which registered voters will receive a clipboard of petitions awaiting their signature.
The prospective ballot measures range from funding cancer research to advocating for Uber and Lyft safety to taxing billionaires. However, many students are suspicious of the petitioners’ true incentives.
“They are paid per signature by petition drive management companies, who are in turn paid by organizations sponsoring the petitions. Gatherers therefore typically have an incentive to gather as many signatures as possible without regard to the actual content of the petition," Reddit user Darth2A said.
The petitioner debate came to the forefront of campus discussion earlier this week, when Chancellor Gary May sent out an email regarding a particularly jarring petition that amassed over 30,000 student signatures.
This initiative sought to convert UC Davis’ Potter Hall into an extended housing facility for the university’s Biowaste Anaerobic Digester (BAD). This initiative, titled “Potter Hall is BAD,” will go into effect in fall 2026.
Based on the singular paragraph of provided information, the initiative rests on the argument that Potter Hall is unfit for student housing due to the eye-watering stench, suspiciously clogged shower drains, desolate location and colloquial nickname as “orgy potter.”
“Yeah, I’m not really sure what the petition is actually for. I just think Potter Hall has gots to go,” Chloe Esparza, a third-year political science major and petition signee, said.
As such, UC Davis Sustainability proposed a plan to demolish Potter Hall and replace it with a new and improved anaerobic digester facility.
“I mean, the BAD will no-doubt make things even stinkier, but we thought that was a reasonable trade-off if it meant saving any future kiddos from living in Potter,” Elena Darland, the head of UC Davis Sustainability, said.
In many ways, the “Potter Hall is BAD” initiative has united all Davis students under a common cause.
“You know, this might be the first time those petitioners have gotten something right! I agree, Potter Hall is lowkey bad,” Max Hallbeck, a second-year sociology major and petition signee, said.
Written by: Domenica Peloso — features@theaggie.org