Event Guidelines

Students and clubs wishing to sponsor or create an event on campus work with Student Activities (stuact@miu.edu) prior to filling out and submitting the event form. Student Activities will provide students and clubs with necessary support and feedback on the event to ensure its success at MIU

Legal permission We must have permission from the copyright holder to show a film. This can be costly, depending on the film. (A very limited exception allows the showing of movies in an ongoing academic class with face-to-face teaching.) For music played at an event, the University has BMI and ASCAP licenses.

Content
We recognize that film and other media have powerful effects on the audience, life-supporting and non-life-supporting. At MIU, we favor the life-supporting because we understand that what we put our attention on grows stronger in our lives, and we wish to promote life-supporting influences in our campus culture. Therefore we ask sponsors to consider the effect of the film or other event on those participating. We also ask sponsors to inform potential viewers of what to expect so that they can decide if they wish to view the film or participate in the event.

1. Films available in the MIU Library may be shown without further consideration, provided that we have legal permission.
2. Other films and presentations may be offered provided they are respectful of our diverse, multi-cultural student body, ultimately life-affirming and nourishing, and not depressing or negatively overshadowing. In addition, we ask that event sponsors respect the following:

• no extreme, graphic, or prolonged violence, or suicide
• no excessive coarse language
• only brief nudity, if any (and not full)
• nothing at odds with the university’s educational mission (e.g., promoting another form of meditation, use of drugs and alcohol, criminal behavior, etc.)

We understand that there is a subjective element to determinations of whether a proposed film or event is consistent with these guidelines. Therefore, if a proposal is disapproved:

• the person who disapproved will explain
• the student or club sponsoring the event will be asked to find another way to reach the outcome desired by the event, and
• the Department of Student Life will convene a review committee of three individuals consisting, if possible, of the chair of the MIU Art Department and/or Media and Communications Department or designee(s), a professor of social justice if available, and the Dean of Student Life or designee

The Dean of Student Life or designee may also disapprove a proposed event if he or she determines that it does not meet the above guidelines. In such a case, the above procedures shall be followed.

If you would like to host a guest speaker, please ask your faculty advisor to submit a guest speaker request. Please wait for approval before proceeding with the event.

Where appropriate, we encourage the event sponsor to invite a faculty member to participate in the discussion of a film or other topic.

After the student or club and faculty advisor have concluded that the proposed event respects the above guidelines, the student or club should contact Student Activities stuact@miu.edu for assistance with scheduling and publicizing the event, as well as for understanding the simple procedures to help make the event a success.

After you have a successful event, you must reset the space to its original configuration. You also must take out the trash (if you have an event that includes food or drinks) and clean the space.