Student-Sponsored Events

Pitzer College aims to promote a lively and varied social life within our community. Student-sponsored events play an important role in Pitzer’s campus life. The principal goal of a student-sponsored event should be to enhance campus life. Events should focus on the greater campus community and not be used exclusively as an opportunity to showcase one’s talent or focus primarily on alcohol. The following guidelines are intended to facilitate such events safely and in accordance with Pitzer policies. Students wishing to register and host events on campus are encouraged to make responsible choices while minimizing high-risk behaviors.

Overview

To help students host responsible, safe, and fun events, Pitzer College requires that all student-sponsored events held on campus be registered with Campus Life.

NOTE: If students desire to host an event in a residence hall suite, they must register the event with the Residence Director of their living area. All other event registrations for student-sponsored events go through Campus Life.

Event Registration Requirement

All student events must complete an “Event Registration Form” for the event to happen on Pitzer’s campus. More information regarding planning events on campus can be found on the Campus Life website: https://www.pitzer.edu/student-life/campus-life/. The Campus Life staff may request a follow-up registration meeting or the event registrant can set up a meeting with a Campus Life staff member to discuss the feasibility of their event and the event logistics. 

Pitzer College Events Board

The Pitzer College Events Board is tasked by the Student Senate to fund, coordinate, and support student events on the Pitzer College campus, and help facilitate student events across the consortium. It is chaired by a designated member of the Student Senate. The purpose of the Events Board is to provide funding advice, assistance, resources, and support to students and organizations that are putting on campus events— this includes, but is not limited to: events, parties, speakers, and artists. All Event Registrants seeking funding for an event must submit a “Pitzer Events Board Funding Request Form” at least 3 weeks before their proposed event date.

Once the above form has been submitted the event registrants will be asked to attend the weekly Events Board meeting. The purpose of attending the Events Board meeting and any subsequent registration meetings is to discuss the planned event, review the Event Hosting and Registration Guidelines, discuss risk management issues, determine the approved funding amount, amount of event staff, security, and alcohol and servers (if applicable) and inform the event registrants of any additional approvals needed to host the registered event.

Event Types

Events that need to be registered with Events Board fall into at least one of the following categories and must be registered at least 2 weeks in advance.

  • Events in the evening: Events that occur in the evening hours that are anticipated to occur between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. (weekdays) or 8 p.m. and 1 a.m. (weekends).
  • Events with 100+ people anticipated: Events that the registrant anticipates having over 100 people or is publicized widely enough to likely draw over 100 people.
    Note: Unless otherwise stated, all registered events are open to Pitzer students, their guests, and 5C students.
  • Events with amplified sound: Events that utilize the Event Staff sound equipment or outside sound engineering equipment.
  • Events at which alcohol is served: Events at which alcohol has been requested to be served and have been approved by Campus Life staff.
  • Events that desire to seek event funding from the Pitzer Events Board: Student Senate has allocated a sum of funding for the Events Board to distribute for on-campus (Pitzer and 5C) social events.

Note: If your event does not fall into any of the above categories, then the event only needs to be registered with Campus Life using the Event Registration Form.

Registration Timeline

Students desiring to register an event that does fall into one of the above categories must  fill out a Pitzer Events Board Funding Request Form (https://www.pitzer.edu/student-life/campus-life/) online at least three weeks before the intended event date, although the Pitzer Events Calendar fills up, so the earlier the better. This registration timeline allows for scheduling event staff, Campus Safety (if applicable), facility reservations, and successfully publicizing the event.

Event Management

During the Pitzer Events Board meeting in which your event proposal is being reviewed, Campus Life staff will review the event management issues and needs, including: Event Staff, Campus Safety, restroom facilities, fencing, etc. An event walkthrough meeting with Campus Life staff and the event registrant may also be required to review safety and overall event management plans.

  • Event Staff: Event Staff is a group of Pitzer students committed to helping their peers host successful on-campus events, some of their roles at events include: sound mixing, set up, take down, crowd control, helping with fencing, etc. Depending on the nature of the student-sponsored event, Event Staff will be present to assist. Events held Sunday through Thursday must end by 11 p.m. and events held on Friday or Saturday must end by 1 a.m. unless otherwise restricted. 
  • Campus Safety: Campus Safety will likely be required at student-sponsored events that are classified in two or more of the following ways: evening events, 100+ people anticipated, using amplified sound, or alcohol is being served. The amount of officers required will be determined by the Campus Life staff based on the type and nature of the event being registered. If a recurring event has had a successful pattern of management, an exception may be made to the requirement to hire officer(s). Payment for Campus Safety is the responsibility of the event registrant’s sponsoring organization.
  • Fencing: Fencing may be required for events held outside with a significant expected attendance. The type of fencing and the fencing plan will be reviewed and approved during the registration meeting, if applicable. Payment for fencing is the responsibility of the event registrant’s sponsoring organization.
  • Restroom Facilities: Public restrooms must be available for all registered events without the need for key card access. Public restrooms are those which are available to all attendees regardless of gender identity and do not require attendees to select a restroom based on traditional limitations imposed by gender and/or sex definitions. If appropriate public restrooms are not available for the nature of the event being registered, portable restrooms may be required. Payment for portable restrooms is the responsibility of the event registrant’s sponsoring organization.
Event Registrants

The institutional resources provided by Campus Life to support events are exclusively for event registrants working in collaboration with one or more Pitzer clubs/organizations. Individuals wishing to start a new event need to connect with the Events Board before proceeding. Collaboration will foster greater support and additional human resources. All events must have an event registrant who is responsible for meeting with the Pitzer Events Board and Campus Life staff, registering the event, and must be present at the event. The event registrant must also have a co-registrant that is present at the event. If the primary event registrant desires to serve alcohol, they must have a co-registrant that is 21-years of age for the request for alcohol to be considered. Hosting an event is a privilege and significant responsibility. Only students in good academic and social standing with the College are permitted to register and host events. Students who have made poor decisions regarding their behavior on campus are encouraged to address these issues before requesting to register and host an event.

Event Registrants are expected to:

  • Be present for vendor deliveries, event set-up, the duration of the event, and for the clean-up of the event.
  • Not be intoxicated at or consume alcohol during the event.
  • Ensure that the event and guests comply with Pitzer policy and local, state, and federal laws. If violations are found, the event registrants will be expected to address the situation immediately.
  • Seek help from Campus Safety if unable to safely manage or oversee the event. This includes ending an event early if, in consultation with Campus Safety or Campus Life staff, it is determined to be necessary to ensure the safety of guests.
  • Ensure that noise stays within a reasonable level. If a noise complaint is received by Campus Safety, the event registrants will be notified and will be expected to have the volume lowered. If a second complaint is received, Campus Safety may require the event be ended. Note: If a local law enforcement agency receives a noise complaint, they may respond to campus and issue a citation. If a citation is issued it will be given to the event registrants who will then be responsible.
  • Clean up the event location immediately following the event and return it to its pre-event condition. This includes removing all decorations and returning all furniture to its original location. If it is determined that additional custodial service is required following an event, the event registrants will be billed for that service.
  • Ensure that all borrowed equipment or supplies are returned in a timely manner and in the same condition in which they were borrowed.
Event Publicity

There are many ways to publicize your event besides the usual mass emails and posting of flyers. You can use word-of-mouth, table tents, sidewalk chalk, message boards, social media, etc. Be creative, but please observe the posting publicity guidelines, designated public posting locations and procedures at Pitzer and the other colleges, which were developed to provide effective publicity, while using a minimum of natural resources.

Some posting reminders for fliers, posters, and banners:

  • Need to be approved with a stamp by Campus Life prior to posting on campus. You can email your poster to [email protected] for digital approval.
  • Need to have the following information: name(s) of the sponsoring organizations/people, title of the event, date/time/location of the event, and contact information of event host.
  • Postings for events cannot include pictures or references to alcohol, nor can they promote the availability or consumption of alcohol.
  • The full posting policy can be found here: https://www.pitzer.edu/student-life/student-affairs/posting-policy/
Alcohol at Events

Student-sponsored events with alcohol may only be approved for Friday and Saturday. The decision to serve alcohol at a student-sponsored event will be based on staffing, availability of security, the nature of the event, the location of the event, and event scheduling. Individuals may not bring their own alcohol to any student-sponsored events.

Amount:

  • Beer and wine are the only alcohol that Campus Life staff will register. No hard alcohol is allowed to be served.
  • All registered alcohol must be served in cups.
  • Only students and guests 21 years of age or older with valid forms of identification may consume registered alcohol.
  • The determination of the amount of alcohol that will be approved for a student-sponsored event will be based on the number of expected guests 21-years of age or older, the length of the event, and the venue/location. The approved amount will be the equivalent of one drink per hour per guest 21 years of age or older, for the duration of the event.
  • If alcohol is approved to be served at a student-sponsored event, no more than one keg or equivalent servings of wine will be approved for the event.
  • The number of student-sponsored events with alcohol cannot exceed more than one per weekend.
  • All student-sponsored events approved to serve alcohol must also provide high-quality non-alcoholic beverages (e.g. water, juice, soda, etc.) and high-quality food (e.g. veggies and dip, fruit platters, cheese and crackers, etc.) throughout the duration of the event.
  • Alcohol provided at the event is not allowed to leave that event.

Servers:

  • If alcohol is approved to be served at a student-sponsored event, a server must be hired through Bon Appetit.
  • Servers may not be intoxicated at or consume alcohol during an event.
  • The servers must follow the guidelines of the Pitzer College Alcohol Policy when working at events. If it is found the servers are not following policy, the service of alcohol will cease for the duration of the event.
  • Servers do not check IDs. A Campus Safety officer must be employed to check forms of identification for students wishing to consume alcohol.

Funding:

  • If approved to serve alcohol at a student-sponsored event, the club/organization collaborating on the event is responsible for the cost of hiring the appropriate number of Campus Safety Officers, Event Staff, and servers for the entire duration of the event. If the event runs late or officers are needed to disperse attendees at the end, the club/organization will incur the cost of the additional time.
    • The cost of Campus Safety officers is dictated by the Campus Safety department and changes annually. 
    • The cost of the servers is 2 times the hourly state minimum wage
    • The cost of Event Staff is the CA state minimum wage per hour.
  • Student activity funds (i.e. clubs or similar funding) cannot be used to purchase alcohol.
5C Guest Pass Policies for Event Attendance

All student-sponsored events at the Claremont Colleges require 5C students and guests to follow their home institutions guest policies outlined below.

Pitzer College

  • All Pitzer student-sponsored events are open to Pitzer students, 5C students, and guests of students.
  • 5C students must have their ID from their home institution.
  • Guests of 5C students must have a valid photo ID.
  • 5C student hosts are responsible for the behavior of their guests while on campus.

Harvey Mudd College

  • Guests must be 18 years or older.
  • Only 1 registered guest per HMC student.
  • Guest list is closed at 12:01 a.m. on the day of the party, which is a Google form that is emailed to [email protected]. No additional guests may be added after the closing of the guest list.
  • Student event staff and/or campus safety handle the guest list at the party. Host must be present with the guest at the party entrance, and the guest must have a picture ID. Guests receive a guest wristband that validates that they are checked in. Hosts are responsible for their guests’ actions at the event.
  • Guests must wear wristbands at all times while at a party or on HMC campus.

Claremont McKenna College

  • Students may register their guests using the electronic guest list that is facilitated by ASCMC prior to an event.
  • Guests must have a photo ID and remain with their guests at all times.

Pomona College

  • Smith Campus Center Building Managers will be the only authorized source of Event Guest Passes for events at Pomona.
  • When registering a guest, the host and guest must both be present and have picture IDs available.
  • The guests will have their photo taken by the SCC Building Manager.
  • The Building Manager will be available to register guests on Friday and Saturday nights from 6 p.m.-10 p.m.

Scripps College

  • When registering a guest at the SARLO office for a 5C event, the Scripps host and guest must both be present and have picture IDs available for photocopying.
  • The SAS Student Activities Chair and the 5C Events Chair and/or their designee will register 5C hosts and guests for large SAS sponsored 5C events where alcohol may be served. SAS representatives will record the name of the host, the name of the college the host attends, check IDs for both persons, and obtain a cell phone number for the 5C event. Upon completion of the registration process, a pass and/or wristband will be given to the guest with specific instructions. All 5C guest passes must be requested prior to the day of the event.
  • The guest should attend the Scripps 5C event with their host. If the host leaves the Scripps 5C event, the guest should leave the event as well. In the event a guest of a 5C student is asked to leave the event, the host will be asked to leave as well.