Event Planning Guide
For tips, resources, and suggested steps to aid in your event planning, check out the Office for Student Engagement's Event Planning Guide.
You can always contact and meet with a Student Engagement staff member as well to talk through ideas and questions.
Event Registration & Reserving Space
Student events must be registered in IRIS five business days before the event date. Once you have completed the registration steps below, you are responsible for following up with the offices that need to provide approvals. All approvals need to have been provided and your event needs to be finalized at least 2.5 days before the event date or we will be unable to support your event.
- Click on this link to connect to IRIS: iris.reed.edu/student_events/
- Sign into IRIS as you usually would with your IRIS username and password.
- Click on “Register a new event.”
- Fill in the pertinent information on the form. Please note that the name will self populate based on who is signed into IRIS. Certain line items (such as location and date) are required while others are optional (such as set up).
- Read over the agreement and then click “submit.”
- You can track the progress of your event through IRIS. Descriptions of the event process are provided below. You will also receive email updates as your event progresses.
We also encourage students to register virtual events on IRIS so that they can be advertised through the weekly Events and Programs Newsletter and on events.reed.edu.
Guidelines for Organizing Balls
If you are interested in organizing a ball in the Student Union, please note the basic ball guidelines below. After you register your proposed ball in IRIS, a Student Engagement staff member will schedule a brief planning meeting with you.
- Student Union Use
- We recommend opening the west side windows and doors (at minimum) for ventilation. Ideally, all windows on both the east and west sides should be open. Sound Kollective and Community Safety have determined appropriate sound and bass levels in order to open all windows without disturbing surrounding neighborhoods.
- Capacity: Maximum 250, but maximum of 100 people during COVID mitigation periods
- Hours: 10 PM to 2 AM approved for balls
- Attendees
- For only current Reed students.
- Event Safety Guidelines
- Adhere to all event safety guidelines and follow appropriate protocols for higher risk events.
- Public health behavior monitoring and compliance
- Event organizers and designees are accountable for monitoring and ensuring public health behavior compliance. This includes enforcing mask wearing by attendees and monitoring capacity limitations.
- Clean Up
- After your ball, please be sure to clean up the space, take down decor, and throw away all trash so that students can use the Student Union on the following day.
- Other notes
- Guidelines and permissions may change as circumstances evolve.
- If Community Safety observes an egregious problem at an event, CSOs may turn on lights and turn off sound to address the issue.
Movie and TV Show Screenings
If you would like to screen a movie or TV show at your event, in most cases you must obtain a performance license from the copyright holder. Licenses can range from $100 to $800 depending on the film.
Check out this Guide to Showing Movies on Campus and contact our office with any questions.
Contracts
Any time you are paying someone to do something you need to complete a contract. Please work with a student engagement staff member to make sure you are completing the process correctly. Be sure to plan far enough ahead to discuss and negotiate the terms, to obtain all necessary signatures, and submit a payment request to get a check cut before your event. We recommend alloting four weeks for the process.
After you and the artist/performer/speaker sign the contract, please bring the contract to the Office for Student Engagement for a staff signature. Once we have signed it, you can take it to the student senate treasury to get a check cut.
Food carts and food vendors
For food vendors and food carts, please use this agreement.
Other vendors
If you are seeking to hire another type of vendor, and you are not sure which contract template to use, contact Student Engagement staff.
Campus Calendar
After you have registered your event and you have completed the process, you will receive an event confirmation from conference and events planning. The following day you will receive a link to Localist, our calendar provider. Click the link and use your kerberos credentials to login. You will be able to add photos, links, descriptions and much more to personalize your event. Calendar events can be seen at www.events.reed.edu.
Audiovisual Support
During the Fall 2022 semester, the Reed A/V department is dedicated to supporting academic classes and is unavailable to provide support or equipment for other meetings or events. This means:
- No AV systems (e.g., sound systems, cameras, or projectors) will be deployed or provided to spaces without already existing AV systems.
- A limited selection of AV equipment is available through the Instructional Media Center (IMC). Availability may be limited, and priority goes to academic needs. Check with the IMC for details.
For events held in the Student Union or for other student-organized events, submit a request to Sound Kollectiv.
Public Health Guidance During In-Person Gatherings & Events
The college continues to assess the current health risks to the on-campus community and will make suggested operational adjustments as needed.
Please visit Reed’s COVID-19 Prevention & Response website for comprehensive guidance on holding in-person gatherings and events. In-person event organizers and all attendees must follow individual public health guidance issued by Reed and comply with federal, state, and local COVID-19 public health protocols.
The event organizer is responsible for communicating any guidelines to all attendees prior to the event and ensuring that attendees comply during the event.
Contact Us
Student Engagement staff are available by appointment to Reed students, staff and faculty. Please contact our staff for assistance.