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On-campus room reservations require simple solution

From Meinen to Markin, student organizations are constantly in search of on-campus venues to host events. Though seemingly simple, this task can present problems of policy incertitude regarding when and where to reserve rooms.

Amidst the chaos of event planning, however, there is one simple solution: the campus event planning page on the Student Activities Office (SAO) website.

Director of Student Activities Tom Coy said this is not a new addition to the SAO website but rather a lesser known feature that, when used, can make life much easier for student organization event planners.

“I think that many students lack the knowledge of the existence of the campus event planning section of our website,” he said. “As an office, we continue to work to meet the needs of student organizations when it comes to officer transitions. We spent quite a bit of focus at this past year’s BOLT training on the resources and transitioning, but obviously we need to continue working on this.”

The site features a “how-to” planning guide for students to identify items like deadlines for scheduling catering services, which departments and people should be contacted throughout the process as well as guidelines and restrictions that can come with certain rooms such as rental fees, limited building hours, availability and capacity.

Additionally, it offers a comprehensive checklist outlining step-by-step directions on how to plan an event without missing important deadlines.

While there are a variety of offices on campus that arrange reservations, all contact information and forms to apply for space reservations can be found on the SAO site.

Several student organization executive board members cited Student Center Ballroom, the Garrett Center and Markin as their “top three go-to locations,” but many added it is much easier to work with SAO and the Garrett Multicultural Center than the Conference Facilities and Parking Office.

“So far, I have not had an experience of the [Conference Facilities and Parking Office] workers getting back to me in a timely manner [because] only once out of about seven times have they gotten back to me within the week,” Sigma Alpha Pi Director of Society Events Leahmay Baker said. “I once waited over a month and had to go back into the office two times after that before they got ahold of me, leaving events being cancelled because of short notice.”

Some student organizations leaders said they did not face problems as much with receiving a confirmation as they did with the inconvenience of the “old school approach” of the room reservation processes.

“It is very uncommon for me to go to the Student Center or even that side of campus,” Epsilon Sigma Alpha President Marti Pine said. “So, if I need to reserve a room, I am going out of my way. The office also closes at 5 p.m., so after I am done with my classes and activities for the day to make it over there, the office may be closed.”

Students recommended a streamlined, online process to reserve rooms via the SAO website or to provide a quicker turnaround for reservation notifications if online reservations are not feasible.

“I think the confirmation process could be greatly improved for meeting rooms,” Activities Council of Bradley University President Helen Lagerblade said. “Since you have to turn the request in in-person, being able to get confirmation while you are there or pretty quickly thereafter would really help.”

Coy said the SAO is working on helping students become more aware of planning resources available to them and hopes they will reach out to the SAO when they are in need of direction and guidance.

“Come meet with us,” Coy said. “Our job is to assist students in event planning and do all we can to make your event successful. We are here full-time to help students make exceptional things happen on campus.”

For more information, visit the resources tab on the SAO page on the Bradley website.

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