Events

Most RSOs have several events scheduled during the academic year. It is important that Student Life be aware of the RSO events that are happening. Whenever any logistics are needed for an event (equipment, tables/chairs, room reservations, catering, purchasing, etc.), RSOs are required to complete a Student Life Logistics Request Form at least 10 business days in advance. For some events, including those that involve a speaker and/or involve contracts, the form must be submitted at least one month in advance. Proper planning is necessary when coordinating events. Last-minute events are a bad idea and a sign of poor planning on the group’s part. You’ll find that planning events on campus requires jumping through several hoops, so planning should start weeks, if not months, in advance. A single Student Life Logistics Request Form should be submitted for an event...not multiple forms. The individual submitting the form, as well as the advisor(s) will be notified if there are any questions or comments about the event. RSOs are encouraged to hold a retreat or planning meeting early in the academic year to plan out events for the year and submit paperwork as early as possible.

You may use this optional Event Planning Checklist to plan your event. This is not a document that needs to be submitted to Student Life.

Risk Management

Risk management should not be an afterthought in your event planning. Whenever your RSO is planning an event, you should develop a plan to avoid or minimize your group’s exposure to risks. Remember the types of risk to consider:

• Physical – can include things such as food poisoning, injuries that may result from physical activities, injuries that may result from travel related accidents
• Reputation – those things that may result in negative publicity for your organization, LSC, your advisor, and/or a venue where you are holding an event
• Emotional – those things that can cause a participant at your event to feel alienated or negatively impact the feelings of a member or members of the LSC community
• Financial – those things that can negatively impact the fiscal stability of your organization and/or any organizations financially supporting your event
• Facilities – those things which may cause property damage, prevent your event from being held (bad weather, not enough space for the number of participants, lack of equipment or materials needed for the event, etc.)

Consideration of these potential types of risk should be taken seriously when planning events. Student Life suggests that each RSO develop and adopt a risk management plan for their organization.

Tracking Attendance

RSOs are encouraged to track attendance using student IDs, and Student Life can help in this process. To do this, the RSO can check out handheld scanners from Student Life. This allows you to scan and record the barcode of each participant. You’ll want to make sure to collect only the 7-digit code, which is the student ID number (the longer one is a library code). Upon completion of the event, return the scanner to Student Life personnel, who can pull the student ID information from the scanner. 

If you use this process at Involvement Fair, you can scan IDs to create a contact list of students interested in your organization. You can also use it to track attendance at events and/or meetings, or to create contact lists of those who attended. It takes 24-28 hours to generate a contact list after the information has been received by Student Life. 

Speakers (paid & unpaid)

RSOs sometimes invite guest speakers for meetings and events. Per Lone Star College policy, no guest speaker may be invited to campus for a meeting or event until approval has been received by the college president. This includes guest speakers for RSO meetings and events. You may reach out to a potential guest speaker to inquire about availability and the amount of their speaker fee, but it must be made clear to the potential speaker that it is only an inquiry until approval has been granted and we have a signed “Performer or Speaker Agreement.”  Approval must be granted, and a Performer or Speaker Agreement must be completed, even if there is no fee for the speaker.

The first step for RSOs is to submit a Student Life Logistics Request Form, which must be completed at least one month prior to the anticipated event date. Once submitted, the RSO will be directed to the correct campus contact to guide you through the process of properly arranging for a guest speaker. It is crucial that students and employees do not plan events with guest speakers without proper approval, as that would be a policy violation.

If you have any questions about this process, please visit with the Manager of Student Leadership & Activities in the Student Life suite.

Publicity & Graphic Design

RSOs frequently publicize their events on campus. LSC-CyFair does not allow posting of any RSO information on bulletin boards without approval from Student Life. Printed flyers must be stamped by Student Life personnel. No flyers/posters may be left on bulletin boards longer than one semester. 

Publicity must include the name of the sponsoring organization and the name of the college and must comply with the LSC styleguide. LSC logos may not be manipulated in any way, other than resized (proportionally). Publicity may only be placed on bulletin boards throughout campus, not on walls or windows. Please do not post on bulletin boards which have been designated for specific programs. If more than one copy of a flier is placed on a bulletin board, they must be stacked, not spread out, so that there is room for other groups to publicize. Do not cover another group’s publicity when posting yours.

Many RSOs have an officer position responsible for creating club marketing materials and publicity. This is an important leadership training role. However, sometimes extra support is needed for RSO flyers, banners, posters, or promo items graphics. Student Life employs a Part Time Graphic Designer in the department. A Student Life Graphic Design Request Form must be submitted to request marketing/graphic design services. Check out the link to the form to see all services available for requests. If you have any questions regarding graphic design/marketing, pleas contact Graphic Designer, Kyra.Meredith@lonestar.edu.

Tablecloths

Student Life has tablecloths to use for events such as Involvement Fair, fundraisers, Open House, or other group events. RSO officers or advisors may check out the tablecloths from Student Life for events through the Student Life Logistics Request Form. These tablecloths are expensive (about $100 each), so it is important to take care of them. Use good sense and cover the cloth with plastic (or don’t use a tablecloth at all) for messier events where it could be damaged/stained (e.g. snocone machine). If Student Life determines that a borrowed tablecloth needs to be replaced, the cost will be charged to the RSO budget.

Room Reservations/Use of College Facilities

For RSO events, there is often a need to reserve locations and prepare for set-ups. Rooms can be reserved through the Student Life Logistics Request Form. RSOs are not permitted to reserve spaces on campus until they have submitted the Facility & Equipment Use Agreement. When utilizing college facilities, it is the responsibility of the RSO to treat the facilities and furnishings with respect. It is important to consider the location of the event and be respectful of others in surrounding areas.

Events should not interfere with other activities or individuals, and volume should be kept at an appropriate level. Furniture should not be moved without permission. If permission is granted, it must be moved back to its original position. Trash must be collected prior to vacating the room/space, and the room/space should be restored to the condition it was in when the RSO entered.

No items should be taped to painted walls unless permission has been received from Student Life. Staples, tacks, and nails should NEVER be used to post signage or decorations on walls or any other surfaces. When an RSO utilizes a meeting or event space outside of the Student Life wing of CASE (or CENT 101), an advisor must be present. If an RSO is co-sponsoring an event with an external organization, this must be noted on the Student Life Logistics Request Form.

Rooms can be reserved for RSOs through the Student Life Logistics Request Form. No fee will be charged for utilizing campus facilities when the event is hosted by an RSO. The RSO Advisor assumes responsibility for any external group or individual invited to campus. LSC-CyFair is not a 24-7 operation. Generally speaking, college facilities may only be reserved by an RSO during normal operating hours of the college (when classes are in session). Most times, events proposed to occur outside of normal operating hours or over holidays will not be approved. Exceptions require the approval of the Vice President of Finance & Strategy. If an event were to be approved outside of normal hours, the RSO Advisor must notify the campus police department in advance and must be present at all times from the beginning of the event until the last person leaves.

Student Life Equipment

Student Life has equipment that can be used by RSOs to support their events. Equipment can be requested with the Student Life Logistics Request Form. The following equipment is available:

• Pop-Up Tents (10’ x 10’)
• Large P.A. (will only be checked out for very large events)
• Portable Wireless Speakers
• Coolers (ice available)
• Coffee Maker
• Prize Wheel
• Megaphone
• Tablecloths
• Tables/chairs

Equipment must be picked up from Student Life by the RSO, set up and secured by the RSO, and returned to Student Life by the RSO after the event in the same condition. Damaged equipment or items needing cleaning will be charged to the RSO account. Student Life reserves the right to review the event and determine if equipment requested is truly needed for the event. For example, if an RSO requests a large PA for a tabling event, Student Life may only approve the small wireless speaker. Student Life reserves the right to deny equipment to RSOs who have damaged, neglected, or mistreated Student Life equipment. 

College Equipment/Set-Up Requests

When set-ups are needed (tables, chairs, tablecloths, podium, pipe & drape, stage, etc.), they must be listed on an Student Life Logistics Request Form. An RSO cannot reserve equipment until an event has been approved. Once approved by the Specialist III, Student Life will submit requests for equipment, so it’s important that the request form be accurate and thorough

Movies & Copyright Law

It is illegal to show most movies on campus without receiving permission from the copyright owner or paying for public performance rights. It does not matter if an advisor or RSO member owns the movie. Pre-home release movies can be reserved through Student Life, but generally cost $800-1200 for public performance rights for a day for new releases and $200-$400 for older titles.