Student Center Space Requirements

The following procedures and guidelines apply to venue reservations in the University Student Center, District House and Outdoor spaces managed by the DSA Student Center team.

How to Book Space

All event requests need to be submitted through the online reservation system. Phone requests cannot be accepted.
Requests should include as much detail about the event and facility needs as possible.
Incomplete online requests cannot be accepted.
Online request forms with only acronyms and abbreviations cannot be accepted.
Submitting an online request for a space does not guarantee event or space approval.
Meeting and Major event spaces in the Student Center and large outdoor spaces are limited to registered student organizations and GW departments.
Individual students are able to reserve spaces in the B levels of District House, the Ground level of the Student Center, and on the Mount Vernon Campus.
Only current members listed in the org's Engage profile may book on behalf of their student organization. The individual reserving the space will be considered the Event Host. The Event Host will serve as the primary contact and should be equipped to provide basic information about the event purpose and facility needs.
Event host must be present throughout the entire duration of the event
- Changes and cancellations can only be requested by the event host with a minimum 7 day notice prior to events in major spaces and outdoor spaces
- Changes and cancellations can only be requested by the event host with a minimum 3 day notice prior to events in meeting rooms and tabling events
Furniture cannot be taken out of the space, however, furniture may be moved around with the space, so long as the event host returns the room to its original setup before leaving the space
Student organizations will only be allowed up to three Foggy Bottom major space bookings per month. (Ballrooms, Betts Theatre, Amphitheater, USC 309, Outdoor Spaces)
After 5pm reservations in meeting rooms are limited to two bookings a week per Student Organization.
Study rooms, tabling spaces, and the Outdoor Classroom will have a max reservation time of two hours.
Meeting rooms, major spaces, and outdoor spaces will have a max reservation time of eight hours.

Booking Window

Reservations must be made at least 30 days in advance for departments, and 14 days in advance for student orgs for outdoor and major spaces.
Reservations must be made at least 3 business days in advance for Student Center and Mount Vernon Campus meeting rooms as well as Tabling, Banner, and Flag spaces.
Reservations for District House and Mitchell Theater can be made right away, as long as the spaces are available.
Reservations for ground floor and fifth floor study & meeting space in the Student Center can be made instantly up to 2 weeks in advance, in a single two-hour increment per day.
Event reservations must occur between 8am-11:59pm. Additionally reservations cannot be outside of the building's operating hours for that day.

Booking Confirmation

For Student Center meeting rooms, District House B level spaces, Table, Study and Mount Vernon meeting rooms, reservation requests will be automatically confirmed. The Confirmation report will be sent to the Event Host’s GW email.
For Major spaces in the Student Center, Outdoor spaces, and Major spaces on the Mount Vernon campus, booking requests will be reviewed by the Scheduling team within seven business days. When approved, the Event Host will be sent a Booking Confirmation via email which confirms the event.

Student Organization Events

A student organization event located in the Student Center, outdoor space, District House, Mitchell Theater, or Mount Vernon Campus event spaces is a meeting, event, or series of meetings or events planned, executed, and managed solely by the registered student organization and which benefit the reputation of the organization and/or GW.
Student organizations will incur other applicable fees for facility-related support depending on the nature of the event. Any and all applicable fees will be the responsibility of the student organization. Applicable fees can include but are not limited to GWPD, Grounds, labor, translations services, third party vendors, damage, excessive trash, etc.
If a non-GW organization/company/entity initiates the reservation or is involved in the planning/execution of the event, this is considered a Sponsored event. See Sponsored Events for more details.
The student organization who is booking the venue must ensure that the space is used exclusively for the purpose and group indicated during the booking process. If the space is used by a different group or for a different purpose, the booking organization risks its privilege to reserve venues in the future.

Sponsored Events

A sponsored event located in any of the Student Center venues is a meeting, event, or series of meetings or events brought to campus by a GW student organization (on behalf of or in conjunction with) a non-GW organization, contracted directly with GW, and coordinated by a recognized student organization. When recognized student organizations host external (non-GW) organizations (regardless of profit, non-profit, or faculty/staff association with academic societies) for an event, space rental fees will apply.
If you are hosting an external organization, it should be related to the mission of your student organization. You are choosing to host the event in accordance with the role(s) you have within an existing GW organization. Responsibility for the event lies with your organization as the GW sponsor.
The student organization (or the non-GW organization, if paying) can incur other applicable fees, such as excessive cleanup fees for facility-related support, depending on the nature of the event.
Sponsored events will be assigned to a member of the Student Center team, who will contact the student organization four weeks prior to the event date.
Sponsored events working with a non-GW client shall deliver a certificate of insurance as proof that client has in force insurance, which shall not be less than one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) combined single limit liability. Additional information can be found on the GW Office of Risk Management webpage
If the non-GW organization plans to pay event-related fees and defaults on payment, the responsibility of payment falls to the sponsoring GW organization.

Policies, Terms and Conditions

The event host of the student organization needs to be present at all times during the event.
All reservation time frames should take into account the time required for rehearsal, client set-up/break down, catering arrival and cleanup, etc.
The Student Center Team reserves the right to relocate events to specific rooms based on the planned activity on how the space will be used.
The room will remain locked until the event booking start time and when the event host is present
Student organizations are subject to CESA violations if they fail to leave their reserved space after their event end time as scheduled through the Student Center team. CESA has the ability to freeze/suspend student organizations, withhold transcripts, etc. More information can be found on the CESA webpage.
If the information provided in the original event request changes, the Student Center Team has the right to reevaluate the event to add rental fees.
Uses; Premises: The GW organization shall only use the reserved space for the event, during the date and time period specified in the Booking Confirmation. GW organization agrees that reserved space is sufficient for its purposes. GW organization acknowledges and agrees that representatives of Student Affairs shall have unrestricted access to the reserved space at all times.
Assignment: The GW organization shall not assign, sublease or transfer space to other organizations or departments without Student Center Team’s express written approval.
Housekeeping Fee: Should reserved space not be returned in the manner in which it was received (i.e. the room should be in its original state, without damage and/or additional materials such as decorations, extreme amounts of papers, food or beverage, glitter, tape, granular materials, rice, confetti, sequins, or mess/damage caused by food or beverage, etc.) a housekeeping surcharge may apply.
Smoking and Vaping Restrictions: In compliance with the “Smoke-Free GW” policy, smoking and vaping is not permitted within any university owned and managed buildings as well as on university owned outdoor spaces. This includes any public space that abuts buildings in the Foggy Bottom campus that are used for academic, athletic, recreational, residential, and administrative purposes.

Equipment, Furnishings, Storage, Personal Property

GW organization shall return the venue and all furnishings and equipment at the end of the event in the same condition as they were received. Failure to do so may result in a fee assessed as appropriate.
Organizations must clean up and remove any and all garbage from the spaces and deposit it in the provided receptacles.
Certain AV equipment must be checked out from the Student Center team. The Student Center team will inform the event host when an equipment checkout is required.
For events in the Student Center and Mount Vernon major spaces as well as outdoor spaces, GW organization shall not make any alterations to the furnishings, equipment or reserved space.
Furniture and AV equipment should not be removed from the reserved space.
Organization assumes all risks of loss or damage to the furnishings, equipment, or licensed space from any cause during the event. Any additional costs associated with equipment and furnishings, such as excessive cleaning costs or security costs will be added to the event invoice.
The GW organization shall not be entitled to store items of personal property within the reserved space unless an exception is applied for in writing and granted by the Student Center Team in writing. If GW organization is permitted to store items, GW shall not be liable for loss of or damage to such stored items. GW shall have no liability for any loss or damage to any personal property of the GW organization or any attendee at the event.

Poster Policy

The GW Poster Policy applies for the University Student Center, District House, Mitchell Theater, outdoor spaces, and Mount Vernon Campus event spaces.

Single Use Plastics

The university has committed to eliminating all single-use plastics at GW. This commitment includes all non-essential, non-compostable, single-use plastics with available alternatives. Eliminating single-use plastics on campus will require individual and collective action. The purpose of this policy is to set the expectations for the GW community, including student organizations, in order to meet this commitment.

Resources for further information:

Decorations & Signs

Only painter's tape may be used to affix anything to any walls. The use of glitter, tape, granular materials, rice, confetti, sequins, or the like is strictly prohibited and will result in Housekeeping charges. Open flames are not permitted.

Contract Services

The GW Organization shall not use any non-university service providers for the event without first receiving the Student Center Team’s approval. Some vendors must be booked through the Student Center Team.

Catering

External Caterer: the GW Organization may use a catering service of their choice, subject to Student Center Team’s prior approval.
A copy of the following documents must be provided prior to the event date;
- Executed food/beverage/catering contract
- The outside contractor’s business license
- The outside contractor’s certificate of liability insurance
- If alcohol is present at the event, a valid ABRA license is required
The time needed for catering set-up and breakdown must fall within the event time.
No food/beverage is permitted in the Betts Theatre, Mitchell Theater District House B132 (Dance Studio), or the Presentation Space.
All organizations must clean up after themselves when utilizing the spaces; this includes disposing of all trash in designated receptacles.
If sterno is used a fire extinguisher must be close by and a designated person must be present to watch the set up.
Propane can only be used in outdoor locations. Caterers using propane for cooking will need to have a 10 lb ABC fire extinguisher at each cooking appliance using propane and the cooking appliance must be at least 10 ft from any building.
If a group leaves the space with garbage that is not appropriately disposed of, they will be charged for housekeeping fees.
All catering and food and beverages policies outlined in the Student Organization Handbook must be followed.
Alcohol. Alcohol is permitted in the Student Center venues, with the exception of the venues listed above that do not allow food and beverage. Events with alcohol must follow all policies outlined in the Student Organization Handbook. GWPD may be required to be present. A copy of the following documents must be provided prior to the event date;
- Executed food/beverage/catering contract
- The outside contractor’s business license
- The outside contractor’s certificate of liability insurance.
- DC ABRA-issued liquor license
Potluck events: Potluck events are permitted for internal GW events, where all attendees are GW students, staff, or faculty.
Bake sales: All bake sale items must be individually wrapped and are only permitted for GW events, where all attendees are GW students, staff, or faculty.

University Media

The university may photograph the event for use by the university in university sponsored media and communications.

Outdoor Space Event Policies

Student organizations may not place overnight structures on Kogan Plaza
Student organizations will only be allowed up to three Foggy Bottom major/outdoor space bookings per month
During the academic year, amplified sound will be permitted starting no earlier than 9am and until 9pm on Sunday - Thursday and 10pm on Friday and Saturday.
Amplified sound must be no louder than 80db as measured 1 meter from the source.
Outdoor sound will not be permitted during university designated reading days through exam periods.
All Student Center A/V equipment used outdoors requires the use of a technician.
Outdoor Movies
- Outdoor movies are not permitted to be shown if the rating is R, MA, or beyond.
- You must purchase the rights to whatever film is being shown to a public audience outside or inside. More information regarding contracting can be found in the Student Organization Handbook (PDF).
- Outdoor movies may only occur between March 21st and October 31st.
- Weather call must be made by noon the business day prior to the event.
- An outdoor inflatable screen cannot be set up if the weather forecast has precipitation at a 40% chance or above and/or a wind rate of 15mph or above. The University Student Center staff will dictate the final decision.
Grounds labor is required for all food related and/or excessive disposal needs after 4 p.m. on weekdays and anytime during weekends and holidays.
Your assigned Student Center team member will work with you in securing these services if needed, as these services all have labor costs associated with them. Costs are per staff person with a four-hour minimum, and events may require the need for more than one staff person.

Event Modification

Major Space , Outdoor Space, Sponsored Events

Contact the Student Center team member assigned to your event to request or change event set-up and/or audiovisual (AV) elements.
Requests or changes to space, date or time to any reservation should be made by the event host on the student organization roster online through an Event Modification Form at least three (3) business days prior to the event; otherwise, there is no guarantee the request can be accommodated. Phone requests cannot be accepted.
Modification requests are subject to approval.

Student Center Meeting Space, District House, and Mitchell Theater:

Requests or changes to any reservation should be made by the event host on the student organization roster online through an Event Modification Form at least three (3) business days prior to the event; otherwise, there is no guarantee the request can be accommodated. Phone requests cannot be accepted.
Modification requests are subject to approval.

Event Cancellation and No-Show Policy

To view your reserved spaces or to Cancel an event please log into your Event Portal and click My Events in the top navigation bar. Please submit cancellation requests at least 3 business days prior to your event for events in meeting rooms and tabling spaces, or 14 days for events in major and outdoor spaces.
The cancellation policy for sponsored events is outlined in the sponsored contract.
Weather call for events in outdoor spaces is to be made by 12:00 p.m. the business day before the event. For events on a Monday, call time is by 12:00 p.m. the previous Friday. Any calls made after this time, with grounds labor requested, will be charged the full amount for the service. All events need to make a weather call/reconfirm. If GW Organization cancels a reservation due to weather concerns and the University is still open, cancellation fees will be charged. Last minute cancellations prevent other organizations from reserving space.
If the University closes for any reason, all events are canceled.

External Events

External (non-GW) organizations can submit space reservation requests through the External Client Request Form
The University Student Center is not available for external events between the end of Spring Break (end of March) and Commencement (end of May) as well as between the end of Fall Break (early October) and the end of Thanksgiving Break (end of November).