Sammy’s back: Warwick’s favourite Big Issue seller returns to campus despite the ban

Our favourite Big Issue seller is back – even though he’s not allowed.

Campus legend Sammy has returned to where he belongs after he was kicked off campus a couple of years ago for harassing women.

Having been in the UK for seven years, Sammy has been lying low in order to avoid university security and scratch a living from the generosity of Warwick students.

Last year, we raised over £1,000 for Sammy in an effort to pay for his sister’s funeral costs.

Yet even with the charity of the usually frugal student population, Sammy still struggles to survive.

Finding difficulty in paying for basics like food and rent, Sammy is nevertheless optimistic, determined, and thankful for all the aid people have given him.

What doesn’t help is the fact Warwick security has blacklisted him and would throw him off campus if he were to be found.

Formerly selling the Big Issue from outside of Costcutter, Sammy was banned from university grounds at the end of the 2011/12 academic year after sexually harassing female employees and students.

Adam, a recent English lit graduate, is suspicious of Sammy’s stories and approaches him with distrust.

He said: “Every time I talked to him there seemed to be a different tale about some awful affliction, affecting either him or a variety of his family members.

“These came through so thick and fast it was difficult to find them all credible.”

But despite all of this, a large section of the student population is still on friendly terms with Sammy, giving him their time and money to make his life a little better.

When asked what attracts him to the University, Sammy said it was because students are friendlier and happy to support him, often buying him food and chatting with him.