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Student Affairs Policies

Purchase College Major Student Events Policy

The College defines an event that has been advertised off-campus and/or an expected attendance of over 300 students as a “major student event”.

Notification and Permission
The coordinating individual or group of the major student event must notify the Office of Student Life a minimum of 2 full weeks before the event. This can be done via e-mail (student.life@purchase.edu). The e-mail must contain the following information:

  • Name of event
  • Individual or group coordinating the event
  • Day and time
  • Location
  • Expected attendance
  • Special arrangements needed (parking, vehicle authorization to restricted areas, etc.)
  • Brief description (maximum of 500 words) including the listing of all performers (musical, comedy, etc.). If the performer is an off-campus performer and contains a publicity website, please provide that link.

Acknowledgement of receipt of the e-mail will be sent within 48 business hours. Notification of permission to hold the event will be sent within 96 business hours from the time of receipt. Please note that your space reservation cannot be officially approved until you receive this permission.

Policy Rationale and Description
College policy dictates that the administration is responsible for maintaining a safe and secure environment for its student body. Major campus events- particularly those that attract large numbers of non-Purchase students and/or guests provide a potential strain on both the administration and the University Police to uphold these measures. Please note that University Police possesses the authority to cancel any event that poses safety and security concerns for the campus population. Potential concerns may include: performer’s history, crowd size, amount of off-campus appeal.

Personnel Coverage
All major student events must have a staff member or organizational representative (student and/or professional) onsite to conduct “ID checks”. All attendees must have a VALID Purchase College student MORE card, a residential guest pass or an event pass. It is the responsibility of the host organization to secure this staffing. The event cannot be held without this function.

The scope of the student event including format type and expected attendance may dictate the following extra personnel:

  • Facilities Management- needed for custodial and grounds (if event is outdoors) upkeep
  • University Police- needed for crowd control and emergency response/crisis intervention presence
  • Harrison Township Sheriff Department- needed for crowd control and emergency response/crisis intervention presence

Please note that Harrison Township Sheriff Department officers will only be present at the current two staple PSGA major student events of Fall Fest and Culture Shock. Any additional PSGA major student events created in the future would fall under this categorization.

  • All personnel listed above would be defined as “extra coverage” and thus the financial responsibility for such overtime payment would be from the PSGA.

Locale Guidelines
Any event in which significant equipment (i.e. trailers, stage, generator, lighting grid, etc.) is brought onto campus by an outside organization must adhere to the following standards:

  • Any equipment that requires electrical output must have a member from the electrical department from Facilities Management present to ensure that arrangement meets campus measures.
  • All equipment set-ups must be approved by the Health and Safety officer. The areas that s/he will be checking pertain to fire code (evacuation route marked and without obstacle, temporary location not too close to permanent structures, etc.)

Additional Information
Any off-campus vendor with a vehicle associated with the event must obtain a temporary parking permit. Only vehicles deemed crucial to the physical set-up of the event space (such as transporting equipment) can be granted temporary access to restricted areas. Restricted areas are fire lanes, walkways and lawns.

  • Any vehicle- campus official, student and/or off-campus vendor- that requires this temporary access to these restricted areas must gain authorization from the University Police Department. Failure to do so may result in ticketing and/or towing.
  • This authorization can be obtained via the notification e-mail of the event to Student Life.
  • Any event that is outdoors and involves amplified music or equipment must conclude by 11pm- per township noise ordinance.