"Dorm storming" is a petitioning tactic we have started using this semester.
What is it?:
Essentially, we go door to door in the dorm rooms on campus and try to engage people in what we are up to and get their signatures for our divestment petition.
Tips and Tricks
1. have someone who has done it before do a mini training before the "storm". It was helpful to have each person person pretend to petition a friend in order to become more comfortable. Also, it's great to go over some common questions to avoid curve balls. Examples: "will this make my tuition go up?" "don't we need fossil fuels to live?" "do you really think this is going to make a difference to the fossil fuel industry?"
2. Send a pair of people on to each floor, and designate a spot to meet up when you have finished your floor. (ensures efficiency)
3. Be time conscious, make sure you pick a time where people are likely to be in their dorm rooms.
4. Even at our super liberal school, it is inevitable that some people will not be on your side. Therefore, if you happen to have a temper or enjoy arguing dorm storming may not be a great job for you!
This has proven to be a great way to get a ton of signatures in a short amount of time. We have managed to get 160 people to sign on in just 1 hour!