Body
Event Registration Process
- The Registered Student Organization (student organization) submits an Event Registration to Student Organization Development & Administration (SODA) within the Department of Student Engagement.
- The SODA team checks the Event Registration Submission for compliance:
- The Registered Student Organization has the five (5) required officers: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Membership Director.
- The President and Treasurer have completed their officer-specific orientations.
- The officer submitting the Event Registration has completed the Event Registration Orientation.
- Event Registration is reviewed by SODA professional staff:
- SODA professional staff review the event description to determine risks associated with physical activity, external speakers/presenters/performers, attendance of more than 200 people, live animals, and other high-risk factors.
- All risk analysis is assessed in a content-neutral manner, and the nature of the activity is considered holistically.
- If an external speaker/presenter/performer is indicated, professional staff research the individual to determine if their presence will require additional support and resources for the overall success and safety of the student organization’s event, including the safety of students, attendees, speaker/presenter/performer, and campus community. Research also includes a conversation with the student organization, where they often share potential concerns about hosting a particular speaker.
- Factors include:
- History of drawing large crowds and expressive activity, especially at other higher education institutions.
- Requests or requirements by the speaker for additional security (may include security personnel or sworn public officers, personal effects scanned by professional/industrial measures that may include metal detectors/metal detector wands, visual inspection, and review of the attendee to ensure compliance with restrictions), signage limitations, and restrictions to the presence of personal effects.
- Topic is of the nature where current events or overall student body sentiments may be divisive and where there may exist the possibility of expressive activity due to the event being held, which could interfere with the right of the student organization to host their event within First Amendment rights.
- The review is content-neutral, and the topic of the speaker/presenter/performer is not scrutinized. However, it may be used to evaluate the need for additional support for the event’s success.
- If a speaker/presenter/performer requires additional resources, Campus Partners such as the facility manager, University Police, Demonstration Response Plan representative, and the Director of Student Engagement will meet with the student organization to create a comprehensive plan for the event.
- Factors include:
- If SODA professional staff determine possible risks to be present, the student organization will meet with them to complete and review a Student Organization Risk Management Worksheet.
- SODA professional staff review the event description to determine risks associated with physical activity, external speakers/presenters/performers, attendance of more than 200 people, live animals, and other high-risk factors.
- Once an Event has completed its review process with SODA, it is forwarded to the appropriate facility manager for final processing and space confirmation.
- Once confirmation has been received, SODA will approve the Event Registration in the Event Management System (OneIllinois). *
* Student Engagement is currently setting up this final step within the system. Regardless, student organizations receive an email confirmation of their event.