MVCC students are encouraged to form clubs/organizations and to sponsor activities that provide social, cultural, educational, and recreational experiences for members of the College community. These clubs/organizations must:

• Be recognized by the College
• Chartered by Student Congress
• Be open to all students
• Operate in a manner consistent with College policies and procedures
• Have members limited to the MVCC academic community
• Not deny membership based on race, religion, national origin, sex or sexual orientation or other protected characteristic

Any violation of Student Congress or College policies and procedures by a club or organization may result in sanctions or suspension of that club or organization.

Each active Club or Organization must have a minimum of one trained representative at each Student Congress meeting, effective the 2^nd meeting each semester.  In the event a trained representative is not in attendance at three meetings, the Club or Organization’s ability to utilize their Standard Allotment or additional funding will be paused until such time the Club President or Advisor meets with the Coordinator of Student Engagement to establish an attendance plan.  In the event the club does not adhere to the established attendance corrective plan, the club or organization will be inactivated until such time reactivation is approved by the Student Congress Executive Committee.

Students are encouraged to create new clubs and organizations. The first step in the creation of a new club is to contact the Student Engagement Office, which will determine whether the idea is truly a “new” club or organization or if it is a re-activation of a past club. Upon the determination that a club is indeed “new,” creating a new club or organization is as easy as 1, 2, 3  

Upon completion of these three steps, the  Coordinator of Student Engagement will review for approval.  Upon Student Engagement Office approval, the Student Congress Executive Board will review act upon the request.  Upon Exectutive Board approval, the new club or organization will be presented to the full Student Congress for recognition as a new club or organization. Upon approval as noted above, the club will be considered “active” and will be eligible for all of the rights and responsibilities of any other club.

When 10 or more students sign up for a club, and an advisor is confirmed, the club or organization will be recognized as ACTIVE and the Student Engagement Office will notify the students of the date, time and location for an initial meeting.   A Club or Organization that was active in a Fall semester will automatically be activated for the following Spring semester.

Yes, fraternities and sororities must comply with other regulations dealing with “pledging” included in New York State Education Law.  Please see separate FAQ below.

Not quite ready for a formal Club or Organization? 

Request funding for a Shared Interest Group!  You design the event > you recruit the students > the Student Activity Fee funds the event!  In an effort to engage a variety of students and their shared interests, five to nine students can request funding through the Student Engagement Office.  This provision is only allowable when no other active club shares the same interest and it cannot exceed three occurrences. The monetary funding cannot exceed $150 per occurrence. To apply complete the Event and Funding Request Form at least 10 days before your event.  Under club/organization select Shared Interest Group and under advisor select Sandy Cummings.

Club Advisor Responsibilities

• Being familiar with the club/organization’s history.
  
• Being aware of the purpose and activities of the club/organization through attendance at club/organization meetings OR through bi-weekly consultation with the leaders.
• Acting as a source of general information regarding College policies and procedures.
• Encourage members to assume responsibility for their actions and effectiveness of their programs.
• Guiding while at the same time allowing freedom for members to plan and coordinate their own activities and programs.
• Providing special technical knowledge or information relevant to the needs of the organization.
• Signing Activity Fee vouchers when necessary.
• Encouraging students to complete student activity fee processes in a timely manner.
• Accompanying students on any off campus trip or recommend another College employee as a substitute advisor.
• Attending a one-time training upon request whereby above responsibilities will be reviewed.
• May only advise a maximum of two clubs.
• All advisors must submit a signed form which verifies that they will follow the above responsibilities along with all other college policies and procedures.

• Officers in student clubs/organizations shall carry out the responsibilities normally associated with their particular office and any special duties as designated in the club/organization constitution as well as the written operating procedures.
• The president must ensure that a delegate and an alternate are named to attend Student Congress meetings and all required forms are completed in the name of the club/organization.
• Officers/delegates are responsible to communicate to their advisor(s) about club activities and what occurs at Student Congress meetings.

MVCC reserves unto itself the sole right to schedule its facilities relating to such matters as what facility is available, cost of use, time of use, conflicts with other uses, deadlines for scheduling, etc. In terms of free speech or any limitations on speech, the College remains viewpoint neutral. Using its right to schedule space and times of use, the College may require that appropriate provisions be taken to protect the rights of all members of the campus community. Requests by student groups to use College facilities will be treated consistently with respect to terms and conditions of the use (i.e. reservations, security, maintenance, insurance, etc.). 

The Student Engagement Office staff coordinates student club and organization events scheduled by both students and advisors. Persons responsible for planning events should consult with the staff before any definite plans are made to avoid conflicts.

• Work with the Student Engagement Office to place a hold on the facility needed. Any conflicts with a previously scheduled event may take additional approval steps. From the time a “hold” is placed on the facility, the club/organization has one week to confirm the reservation with Student Engagement. Failure to do so may result in the loss of the “hold” on the facility.
• Events planned for normal working hours: No event will be held if the Student Engagement Office is not notified at least 10 school days prior to the date of the event.
• NOTE: Requests involving safety, insurance, or off-time issues need additional approval. At least 14 days are necessary to provide for appropriate staffing and notifaction notification, fire safety, and certificates of insurance.
• Events planned for after normal working hours, MUST be scheduled at least three weeks prior to the event. A Student Engagement staff member must approve the event. The staff may schedule on-campus events for student groups until 1 a.m., after which additional approvals are needed.

Fire Codes as appropriate to each facility and event will be enforced. These codes include considerations regarding the size of the crowd, flammable material, fire protection equipment, exits, lighting, and so on.

No open flames, theatrical fireworks, smoke machines, or other items that will interfere with the fire alarm detection system may be used without the express approval of the Director of Facilities and Operations or designee.

Additional Public Safety Officers or off-duty non-MVCC police officers will be hired for an event upon the request of the appropriate College staff. Payment for such services will be made by the sponsoring club/organization. In the event of any safety or security incident, the Public Safety Department will assume control of the activity.

Additional campus facilities staff may be hired for an event upon the request of the appropriate College staff. Payment for such services will be made by the sponsoring club/organization.

The College recognizes the need for a positive and vibrant student experience and further recognizes that Late Night Dance/Concert/Show/Similar Events  sponsored by a Club or Organization can foster a vibrant student experience.  The College also recognizes the inherent risks associated when hosting a Late Night Dance/Concert/Show/Similar Events outside of the College's normal operational scheduled.   Any Club or Organization wishing to plan a Late Night Dance/Concert/Show/Similar Event, as defined below, must receive special permission. 

 

DEFINITION

• A late night Dance/Concert/Show/Similar event shall be defined as any non-seated activity, such as a dance, show, concert, where the main function ends after 10 p.m.  

REQUEST

• The first step in seeking approval is by the Club or Organization submitting a Funding Request Form at least 30 days prior to the proposed event.  

APPROVAl

• Upon receipt of request, a planning meeting with Student Engagement and the Department of Public Safety will be convened to review the request.  Other parties will be invited to the meeting as appropriate. 
• A receomendation to allow, or not allow, an event to occur will be developed by the Student Engagement Office and Public Safety.  This recommendation will be based on several factors, including, but not limited to, the number of attendees, whether or not the event is open to non-MVCC students, the amount of required additional safety measures, based on reasonable and industry norm mass gathering protocols, etc. 
• The recommendation will be presented to the Vice President for Student Affairs.  The decision of the Vice President for Student Affairs is final.

 

In the event that the Late night event is approved, the base guidelines will be:

• The event must be ticketed.
• Tickets will be available only to MVCC registered students and residential guest in possession of a guest pass.  
• All tickets will be printed by the College.
• All ticket sales/distribution will be in advance out of the Student Engagement Office or the Box Office.
• A maximum of 200 tickets will be available for events.
• No tickets will be available at the door.
• At least 25% of the tickets must be sold/distributed by Student Engagement at least one week prior to the event or the event will be cancelled. All contracts and expenses are the club’s responsibility.
• Ticket and I.D. must be presented for entry into the event.
• All CDC and College guidelines must be followed.

ADVERTISING

• All forms of advertising must have Advisor and Student Engagement approval before being posted.

SAFETY/SECURITY

• Police presence, DPS Officers/PD, will be at the direction of the Executive Director of Public Safety and Emergency Management.
• An MVCC Administrator or designee will be on-site.
• Any costs incurred for the police officers will be paid for by the club/organization sponsoring the event. 
• A private security company will provide entrance security at the expense of the club/organization sponsoring the event. Their purpose will be for metal detection, to review participant I.D. and to provide the first layer of security. MVCC will provide a ticket taker. The ticket taker will be after the private security area. The ticket taker will provide the second layer of event security.
• Standard security lighting must remain on at all times.
• No large bags or bottles will be permitted. All bags will be inspected.
• All persons who enter must:
  • Have a valid ticket
  • Have a valid I.D.
  • Pass through a metal detection device
  • MVCC has the right to deny entrance to the event at our discretion.

ONE TIME ENTRANCE

• If any event attendees leave during the event, they will not be allowed re-entry.

The person in charge of a specific event, i.e. Club President or Advisor.  The responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Submitting all forms (advertising requests, check vouchers, receipts, etc.) in accordance with established deadlines.
• Securing the services of ticket sellers/takers, hospitality crew, stage hands, etc., and informing the staff person on duty of the assignments.
• At the time of the event the person(s) in charge should arrive early to meet with the college staff people on duty, greet entertainers, check with student volunteers (to be sure they understand their duties), check physical set-up, etc.

Meeting rooms may be scheduled by contacting the Student Engagement Office.  We recommend you contact the office at least 10 days in advance. 

• If the meeting is cancelled, it is necessary to notify Student Engagement prior to the meeting so that the reservation can be cancelled.
• All meetings requiring special set-up or the use of specialized equipment such as projectors, screens, computers, disability accommodations, etc., must be scheduled using the Internal Request Form.  The form will be done by a member of the Student Engagement Staff.

Prior to any sign-up or advertising, all student organizations sponsoring travel must submit an Event Funding & Request Form to the Student Engagement Office. This form is located on the Student Engagement webpage. The form must be filled out in detail, with the justification for the travel, location of travel, dates and cost. Cost must include, as needed, hotel, transportation, admission fees, meals and any other costs associated with the trip. The form allows clubs to upload documents as well. It will then be sent to the club advisor for approval and then to the Student Engagement Office. The travel proposal will then be reviewed by staff and the Student Congress Officers. If there are any questions or concerns with the form it will be returned for revision to the advisor, and the advisor must then return it for revision to the club representative that initiated the form. The club representative must then update the form to correct the concerns/questions that were raised. The representative must then re-submit it to the advisor who will then review and approve and re-submit it to Student Engagement.  If all is correct on the form, it will then be submitted to Student Congress for approval. After approval, it is scheduled with the College. Scheduling permits advertising for sign-ups and access to budgeted student activity fee money. All trips and receipts for the trips must be completed and turned into Student Engagement Office one week before graduation each semester.

Definitions

• Conferences, Workshops or Seminars are defined as events where a registration fee is paid and some formal program that includes a learning aspect — usually provided by an outside group or person. These conferences, workshops, or seminars must be related to the purpose of the club.
• Competitions are defined as events where the purpose is to compete against another team/individual as an MVCC representative.
• Trips are defined as events that are related to the purpose of the club/organization. A trip can include admission fees.

Acceptance Procedures

Groups planning any type of travel must complete the appropriate event and funding request form and submit it for action to Student Engagement Office by 12 p.m. (noon) Monday before the weekly Student Congress meeting on Thursday. Information will include (but is not limited to) the purpose of the event; the names of those attending; a copy of the registration form; a copy of the program; the time, location, and cost of the event; method of travel; and itinerary.

• No student activity fee money will be expensed until Student Congress has approved the funding request form.
• All CDC and College guidelines must be followed.

Sign-up Procedures

• Groups planning any travel shall advertise where and when the sign-up for the event will take place, the cost, and destination. Advertising should be for a minimum of three school days prior to the initial sign-up.  
• Groups attending a competition do not need to advertise the event or sign up.  
• The sign-up shall be for MVCC students only on a first come/first served basis. The sign-up for MVCC students shall last for a period of one class day, after which the club/organization may open the trip to others, including non-students or faculty/staff.  
• All trips may include an initial deposit or payment-in-full at the time of sign-up.

Finances and Expenditures

For all conferences, workshops, seminars, competitions, and trips, the funding will be as follows:

• Overnight trips will be approved on a case-by-case basis, and public transportation should be used.  
• No international travel will be funded with student activity fee dollars.
• If student activity fees are used, all sign-up money will be deposited into the student activity fee account that supported the event.
• For the purposes of sign-ups and payment, club/organization trip advisors will attend at no cost.
• Employees of the College may sign up after reasonable time has been given to students for sign up and will be charged.  
• Guests will be charged an additional sum of money.

Group/Club Travel

• When a student group (club or class) is traveling off campus, a qualified trip advisor (inclusive of College, ASC and Dormitory Corporation employees) MUST travel with the group. For every trip there must be two advisors participating in the trip. Due to this requirement and the importance of volunteer advisors, the time spent away from campus will be considered “approved travel time,” and shall not be considered “vacation time,” assuming that the appropriate approvals have been received by the advisor’s immediate employment supervisor.
• Due to the fact that advisors are volunteers, no additional compensation for evening or weekend hours will be considered.  In addition, no claims for travel outside that associated with the club’s travel will be considered.
• An approved Travel Request should be submitted by the employee to their immediate supervisor in a timely fashion.  Travel expenses cannot be charged to the College’s operating budget and will be funded by student activity fees.  
• New procedures will be forthcoming regarding transporting students in personal vehicles. 

International Travel

• Any travel outside the continental or intercontinental United States is not permitted.

Other Information

Students shall receive accurate information about the travel, including:

• Accurate and timely advertising
• Itinerary
• What is included and what is not
• Receipts for all funds paid

Students will be asked to fill out and provide an Emergency-Medical Information Sheet.         

Waiver to Policies

At the request of the sponsoring group, Student Congress may waive all or some of these travel policies on a case-by-case basis with a 2/3 vote of those present and voting. Such waivers must be sought prior to any advertising or sign-up.

 

Established by the MVCC Board of Trustees, this scholarship of $500 will assist a student who has demonstrated active engagement in Student Congress at MVCC. To be considered for this scholarship, a student must meet the following requirements:

• Have a GPA of 2.5 or better
• Completed a minimum of 15 MVCC credit hours
• Be a full-time student
• Be an active and engaged member of Student Congress
• Provide a copy of their co-curricular transcript
• Provide two letters of recommendation, one of which must be from a member of the MVCC Student Engagement staff who can confirm the student’s participation in Student Congress

The U.S. Copyright Act (S.S.C 17, 101 and 106) grants all rights of public exhibition of copyrighted work to the owner of the copyright. Such rights of public exhibition include the right to show a film or DVD to a group, whether or not admission is charged. Organizations and individuals desiring to show DVDs or films must be licensed for public performance (there are various ways to do this, including ordering from a vendor such as Swank). Video rental or streaming services, such as Netflix, as well as personal DVDs, do not hold these rights.  

To comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, all video and DVD purchases must be close-captioned. If you have questions, please contact the Office of Accessibility Resources in Wilcox Hall, Room 129A-E or at 315-792-5644.

No club/organization or individual may use the College’s name, logo, or seal without the permission of the College for events, fundraisers, advertisements, including the web, etc.

The Office of Student Engagement utilizes the app to promote campus events, services, and giveaways as well as ease communication among students and faculty. Student Engagement reserves the right to remove any posts that are deemed inappropriate, offensive or in violation of Title IX or College policies and procedures.  

The College recognizes the freedom of expression of ideas. All materials posted on College property must be in good taste and conform to standards that are acceptable to the College community. The College will not allow material with bias or hate speech to be posted. The College will not permit posting that violates or encourages violation of law. Any group posting needs to be removed within 24 hours after the event.

College Clubs/Organizations

• Bulletin boards are available for a variety of uses. 
• Publicity materials posted on bulletin boards may be limited in size. 
• The club/organization or individual doing the posting is responsible for taking down the publicity material immediately after the event is over. 
• The placing of notices, flyers, etc., on vehicles parked in college parking areas is prohibited. 
• All language, graphics, artwork, etc. is expected to conform to commonly accepted standards of good taste and morality. 
• The College reserves the right to remove all materials in violation of or inconsistent with College policy or any activity that is in violation of civil or criminal law.
• Every two weeks bulletin boards will be reviewed and any outdated (or all) flyers will be removed.

Residence Hall Posting

• Notices, flyers, signs, posters, etc. are not permitted on walls, doors, windows, etc. of the residence halls, unless with permission from the Residence Life Office.
• Material that does not conform to commonly accepted standards of good taste and morality and/or are in violation of or inconsistent with College or Dormitory Corporation policy will be removed. 
• Every two weeks bulletin boards will be reviewed and any outdated (or all) flyers will be removed.

Non-College Groups

• Non-college groups must have their flyers reviewed by the Student Engagement Office first and then may post materials on public notice bulletin boards.  Materials may not be posted on any bulletin boards designated for specific groups. 
• All language, graphics, artwork, etc. is expected to conform to commonly accepted standards of good taste and morality. 
• The College reserves the right to remove all materials in violation of or inconsistent with College policy or any activity that is in violation of civil or criminal law.
• The placing of notices, flyers, etc., on vehicles parked in college parking areas is prohibited. 
• Every two weeks bulletin boards will be reviewed and any outdated (or all) flyers will be removed.

To help reduce spam emails, the College has established strict limitations on the use of allusers and allstudents mass emailings. The Marketing and Communications Office, located in Payne Hall, coordinates and releases all College publicity. Student clubs/organizations wishing to use the services of this office must first contact the Student Engagement staff.

Students, if you see a public safety issue, you can report it to the Department of Public Safety or to any College employee. If you want to report it anonymously, use the Hawkeye Tip Web page

Title IX means no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Protections also extend to sexual harassment and sexual assault or violence that impairs or interferes with access to equitable educational and employment opportunities.

See the most current Title IX information

In compliance with the New York State Education Law, MVCC includes in its list of misconduct the following:

“Any action which threatens the mental, psychological, or physical health of another person at the College including those actions for the sole purpose of initiation into or affiliation with any organization (hazing).”

See the Code of Conduct in the Student Handbook