Student Events With Public Interest

7/29/2019 Student Events With Public Interest

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Student Events with Public Interest: recommendations for policy changes

March 28, 2013

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Introduction

In the aftermath of the February 7, 2013 Lecture on the Importance of the BDS Movement, as

well as other events over the last two months, it has become clear to members of student

government, as well as members of the administration, that clearer, codified guidelines must be

in place for student events which are open to the public. Such sentiments were made clear by

student leaders, as well as administration officials, at meetings of the Policy Council on

February 13 and March 21, 2013.

However, it seemed to be the opinion of some, particularly the Councils External

Relations Committee, that any such policy changes and recommendations should be put on

hold until the Universitys Office of Legal Services releases its full report on the events of

February 7, assuming that the report will contain recommendations for policy modification.

Waiting for such recommendations, however, seems imprudentespecially on the part

of student government and the Division of Student Affairs (the Division). Waiting for the

report from CUNY Legal before beginning any talks of policy change makes two major

assumptions: First, that the report will contain clear recommendations for policy changes. And

second, that the report will not present any other issues for student government and the

Division that will take higher priority than such policy changes.

Such a wait, on our part, is also largely unnecessary. Though we will need the CUNY

report going forward to point out certain flaws and possible policy modifications, there is lot we

can begin doing now to remedy the issues we know need to be addressed with respect to eventshosted by student groups, open to the public, that garner large attention from the public and the

media:

The RSVP process for such events Student access to such events, as well as media access Communication between the host organization, student government, and the Division The role and responsibility of third-party organizations

o Particularly non-Brooklyn College student involvement in event execution.In many such events, and we saw this clearly with the February 7 lecture, it becomes

important that Brooklyn College is shown to have no involvement in planning, hosting, or

executing the eventmainly, to make clear to the general public the independence of student

groups in hosting these events. To maintain this perception, the Division has taken, what can be

called for the most part, a laissez-faire approach to these events, with almost no involvement in

the execution of the events. In the case of the February 7 lecture, the Division only became

involved in the execution at the last minute, to which we can feel comfortable in saying had a


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hand in, if not a direct cause of the confusion that ensuedeven before the release of the CUNY

report.

This again underscores the need for a codified protocol for Division involvement in such

events. With a clearly defined, comprehensive protocol, student government and the Division

can maintain the necessary role in event execution, while still protecting the schoolsindependence in these events. Below are a set of recommended guidelines which student

government feels the school should adopt to prevent incidents in the future.

The autonomy of student groups

Before enacting any set of guidelines that call for administrative intervention (even if on

the part of student government) in student events, we must be very clear as to the scope of such

guidelines. Before anything else, these are student events, and we must be especially receptive

of the wishes and vision of the hosting student groups. Student government and the Division

should not and can never interfere with the content of the event or override the autonomy of the

host organization to better serve our own political interests.

Brooklyn College community events

The Division and student government should never find it necessary to intervene in any

student event that is marketed solely to the Brooklyn College Community (BC students, faculty,

and staff) unless the presence of Publicly Safety is deemed present, or any of the other

superseding conditions mentioned below apply.

Student events open to the outside community

Student events that are open and marketed to members of the outside community

(student-community events), including but not limited to other CUNY institutions, should be

subject to different but universal protocols for administrative involvement, depending on the

size of the anticipated audience.

Universal definitions and procedures

The following definitions for sponsorship and status shall apply universally to the

guidelines recommended above and herein:


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Administration: Any official acting on the part of a college entity not the host orsponsoring organization. This includes college staff (including the Division of Student

Affairs) and, in this context, student government.

Student government: The designated officer(s) of the governing body which grants thecharter for the host organization (CLAS, SGS, or GSO).

Student organization: Any organization duly chartered by at least one of the BrooklynCollege student governments.

For all purposes of these guidelines, reservation of space in the Student Center,Whitehead Breezeway, or other space on the Brooklyn College campus, shall constitute

sponsorship. (Reservation of space is free to chartered student organizations, and such

reservation does have a monetary value to non-student entities. It is commonplace

among third-party groups to use a student group to host an event to avoid the booking

fees of the Student Center.)

Host organization: The duly-chartered student organization under whose name thespace was booked. The host organization shall undertake the primary responsibility forthe event, and shall be primarily responsible for coordination with student government

and the Division.

Sponsoring organization: Any duly-chartered student organization, whose name isprinted on the flyer, involved in the promotion of the event, planning of the event,

execution of the event, and/or has contributed any financial support for the event.

Sponsoring organizations, along with the host organization, share in the responsibility

for the orderly organization, planning, and execution of the event. The term sponsoring

organization for these purposes shall include the terms sponsor, co-sponsor,

endorse, provided by, made possible by, or any other term which implies a part

in the planning, and/or execution of the event. Sponsoring organizations shall beentitled to equal rights in planning and execution thereof with the host organization,

and with each other, and also subject to any responsibilities thereof.

Third-party organizations: Any organization, student or otherwise, not chartered by thestudent governments of Brooklyn College, including academic departments, student

organizations of other CUNY institutions, and outside advocacy groups and

organizations. Agreements between Brooklyn College student organizations and third-

party organizations shall be subject to the terms provided herein.

Supporting organizations: Any organization, including third-party organizations, whichprovide promotional support for an event, but do not provide any measurable material

or financial support to an event. The name of the supporting organization does not

appear in advertising material, leaders and/or representatives of supporting

organization do not attend the event, and the organization does not take any part in the

planning or execution of the event. Supporting organizations do not share in any of the

responsibilities of the event, and do not share in any liabilities stemming from the event,

should they arise.


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General procedure for RSVP events

Student government shall create, maintain, and manage a universal RSVP system to be

used for all student-community events as provided herein. The system should be online based,

mobile accessible, and able to differentiate between BC students, CUNY students, faculty/staff,

media, and outside guests. RSVP shall begin no later than 10 days before the event, and shouldclose no later than close of business on the business day preceding the event. Outside media

must request access no later than 48 hours before the event.

Priority for entry

Any student-community event with student organization sponsorship shall be required to

maintain the following:

Sixty-percent of the seating must be prioritized for Brooklyn College students. One seat must be held for a student government observer, as provided herein. Three seats must be held for student newspapers. Priority may be given to other

student-media outlets with proper credentials at the request of the host organization,

with the approval of student government.

Up to five seats must be reserved for outside media with proper credentials on a first-come, first-serve basis. If seats remain available after the media registration deadline,

those seats shall be made available to the general public.

Waitlists can be created at the discretion of the sponsoring organizations and studentgovernment.

It is of utmost importance that the integrity of the RSVP system is maintained, and that itnot be tweaked or superseded by one, including administration and student government, for

any reason. The purpose of these broad guidelines is to make sure that every event is held to the

same standard. If student government or administration alter supersede that list to grant

particular students access, the guidelines are essentially pointless.

Event planning and execution

No later than seventy-two hours before the event, leaders from the host organization,

sponsoring organizations, any third-party organizations, student government, and any relevant

administration should meet to create an execution plan for the event, including sign-ins, panel

moderation, group facilitation, etc A written account of the execution plan should be on file

with the host organizations faculty advisor and liaison, as well as student government.

Only those individuals indicated in the execution summary shall be allowed to serve in

those capacities. Presidents of sponsoring organizations shall be allowed to fill any indicated

role if a position were to be vacated during, or leading up to the event.


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Events anticipating fifty people or less

Student-community events booked for, and/or anticipating fifty people or less should

be subject to the same guidelines and oversight as Brooklyn College community events.

Events anticipating fifty-one to one-hundred people

Student-community events anticipating more between fifty and one-hundred people

(SC50) should go through the following procedure:

No less than twenty-one days before the event, the President of the hosting studentorganization shall notify student government of the event.

The student government shall oversee the RSVP system in accordance with theguidelines above and herein.

The event should be observed by an official of student government who does not have adirect role in the budget of the host organization, and is not a member of the hostorganization, sponsoring organizations, or third-party organizations.

Should an event begin to garner public interest rapidly and closer to the date of theevent, the President of the host organization should contact student government and the

liaison when such information becomes clear.

o If an event is of the nature to gain public interest rapidly, the President of thehost organization should notify student government.

Events anticipating more than one-hundred people

Student-community events anticipating more than one-hundred people should take

place in the Student Center, to better control the elements associated with such events. Suchevents (SC100+) should follow the same procedure as SC50 with the following modifications:

The twenty-one day notification should include the host organizations liaison, thechartering student government, and the chair of the Council of the Presidents.

Only non-students who are registered with the RSVP list twenty-four hours before theevent should be allowed in, even if space allows it.

The event should be observed by a member of the Council of Presidents who does notrepresent the division of the host organization, or by the designee of the Council.

Events that require presence of Public Safety and/or NYPDEvents for which student government and/or the host organizations liaison determines

the need for Public Safety to be present shall follow the SC100+ guidelines, and the liaison

should notify and involve the Vice-President for Student Affairs, as well as the Director of the

Student Center.


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Judgments of the Director of Public Safety, or the commanding officer present at the

event, necessary and proper to preserve the public peace should have precedence over any part

of the execution plan, student government, or division officials.

Events with government officials

Events that will feature an elected or other high-ranking government official shouldrequest the presence of Public Safety, and follow the accompanying guidelines. The host

organization should also notify the Director of Governmental and External Affairs.

The role and responsibility of third-party organizations

Arguably one of the most controversial issues to be dealt with this guideline, because of

the events that have led up to the creation of these guidelines, is the role of third-party

organizations in student-community events. As defined above, third-party organizations

encompass a wide array of organizations, including some which have freedoms protected by

various charters and contracts to which the school is a party.

The purpose of these guidelines is not to decide the right or prudence of such

organizational sponsorships. Rather, these guidelines are being proposed to determine a clear

set of responsibilities for when such sponsorships do occur.

There will undoubtedly be people who say that student government and the

administration do not have the authority to place such restrictions and responsibilities on

independent entities, but that interpretation is wrong. The fact is, any organization that enters

into co-sponsorship (or any other term listed above) is entering into an agreementalbeit aninformal onewith the host organization. As a chartered student organization, any such

agreement is pursuant to the rules and terms put forth by student government and the

administration.

Host organizations may enter sponsorship agreements with any third-party

organizations, provided that the agreement is consistent with the guidelines listed above. It is

the responsibility of the host organization to relay this information (which should be made

concise and readily available online) to the third-party organization. Failure on the part of the

host organization to do so will result in any stemming responsibility falling to the host

organization.

As a general rule, third-party organizations should not have a part in the execution of

any student-community event at Brooklyn College. If involvement by the third-party

organization is deemed necessary by administration and the host organization, the

representatives of the third-party organization become involved as sub-contractors of the host

organizationmeaning that though the ultimate responsibility lies with the host organization,


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any malpractice on the part of that representative shall be the responsibility of the

representative, and the represented organization, not the host organization, or administration.

Events on the Central Quad and Whitehead Breezeway

It is the current understanding of student government that the division is currently inthe process of creating new guidelines for events on the Central Quad and the Whitehead

Breezeway. It is the opinion of student government that the guidelines, as well as the process in

which they are being written, become more transparent, codified, and that it include the input

of student government.

Documents

Student Events With Public Interest