Fifth Floor Policy

Use of the Common Areas

The Student Group Resource Area also has informal chill-out/meeting areas for students to network, study, relax, and/or take a break in, etc. Students will find a “free-play” jukebox and as well as snack and soda vending machines. The student government office is also located nearby, providing a great opportunity to connect with other student leaders and representatives within a relaxed atmosphere. Users of the common areas are asked to be mindful of the work of others that may be going on at the time. As it is a communal area, all are expected to respect the space and each other and strive to keep it clean and orderly.

Beauty and Order Policy

As the SDA-Student Group Resource area is a communal space, all users have an obligation to contribute to the maintenance and upkeep of the area. Please observe the following practices and rules:

• Please place all refuse in designated trash receptacles located throughout the area
• Please keep all public area chairs in the public areas
• Groups who have reserved space in the common areas are required to leave the space in an orderly condition after its use. This means returning the meeting room, the desktop publishing spaces, etc. to their original condition. Groups who fail to do so are subject to a cleaning fee charge to their club accounts.
• SDA is not responsible for items left unattended in the public areas which will be swiftly discarded.

Obtaining Access to Assigned Resources ( for ABC Groups and Student Governance Executive Groups):

Access to assigned resources is granted for the course of one full school year, normally running from the first day of classes until the last day of classes. Special requests can be made to extend occupancy during the summer session. The Manager of Leadership Programs reviews these requests on a case-by-case basis. In March-April of each year, an application process is opened up for all eligible groups. Those groups already assigned resources must also re-apply. An application review committee comprised of officers of the student government, the ABC, and the SDA staff, make recommendations to the SDA Director for all allocations for the lease period. The Office of Student Development and Activities ( SDA) notifies applicants about the outcome of the allocation process and provides the necessary follow through information (i.e., resource assignments and usage policy, etc.). The application review committee determines resource designations based on applicant’s expressed need vs. competing needs, organizational record and impact on the Campus community at large, and rationale for use of the space. Re-applying groups are evaluated based on continuing and competing need; impact on the campus community, past use of the space and “good neighbor standing” or assessed impacts on the 5 th floor.

Keys: All holders of assigned resources will be given a set of keys when applicable. All key holders must be registered with the Manager of Leadership Programs with an accompanying organizational account number. All office keys must be turned in by the end of the academic year to the Manager of Leadership Programs unless arrangements have been made for summer use of the assigned resource. Groups who fail to return office keys will have a charged placed on their organizational accounts for a lock change and for replacement copies of the resource key. For those groups that share resource space, charges will be assessed according to which group failed to return office keys at the required time.

Procedure for Taking possession of Assigned Resource space 2007-08

Those clubs and organizations receiving assigned storage space during the academic year may take possession of the assigned resource beginning the first week of classes unless otherwise specified.

To do so:

• Clubs and Organizations must contact the SGO manager at sgo@columbia.edu . The SGO manager will follow up to schedule an appointment wherein a resource condition report will be made and additional information about the space use will be reviewed.
• All groups must provide up-to-date contact information including the name of one primary contact for the group who will accept responsibility for keys and resolving any issues related to use of the resource. This person should also provide campus and off-campus addresses, email and phone contact information. Additional office keys can be requested and will be charged to the student group’s account. All key holders must register their contact information with SDA.

Present resource holders who did not receive space for the new academic year:

• Those organizations that did not have their assignments renewed must complete an exit inspection to assess damages and remove their belongings from the 5 th floor premises within a week of the start of the new academic year. All office keys in the group’s possession must also be returned at that time. Groups that fail to complete an exit inspection may have charges made to their club account en-abstentia and their belongings removed and discarded at the group’s expense. Additional charges will be billed to the groups account if locks and/or keys have to be replaced.
• Groups denied access to assigned resources are allowed to re-apply during the next round of applications.

First Time Assigned Space Holders

• First time assigned space holders can take possession of their assigned space a full week following the beginning of the academic year. Keys will be distributed by appointment unless other arrangements have been made. Please contact the SGO manager at sgo@columbia.edu to coordinate.

Temporary Storage Room POLICY AND PROCEDURE

The SDA-Student Group Temporary Storage is a locked storage room established to support the events of recognized student organizations. The storage room is available to store supplies and other items for student group events for up to two weeks per request. Space will be granted on a first come, first serve basis and in light of competing activities as determined by the Manager of the Student Government Office and the Manager of Leadership Programs.

Eligible groups can request access to the temporary storage space by emailing a request to sgo@columbia.edu. Request must be received with a week’s advance notice. All requests should contain:

• Group Name
• Primary contact person – on campus number, e-mail contact info
• Information regarding the nature of the event in need of support, along with a listing of the items to be stored and duration of storage.

An email confirming or denying the request will be sent within 3 days of receipt. Once access is granted, the designated contact person will coordinate with the Student Government Office Manager access to the space and to complete the necessary paperwork.

After Hours Access/Key Sign-out: Student Organizations granted access to temporary storage can also sign out a key to the room to allow for after-business hours and weekend access. The SGO manager will be responsible for maintaining the short-term storage space and the key sign-out.

• No more than two student groups can sign-out the key at any point in time.
• Request to sign out a key must be made 48 hours in advance to the SGO Manager and must be picked up during the manager’s posted office hours.
• Keys can only be signed out for a 48-hour period. Keys must be returned at the end of the allotted sign out period.
• Group executive officers are the only members allowed to sign out keys.
• In the event that property is damaged or stolen, the groups that are in possession of the keys at the time of the incident should understand that SDA would not be held responsible. Each group is responsible for their items and must understand that items are stored at their own risk.

The following items will not be allowed in the temporary storage rooms:

• Unsealed Beverages and/or Food Items
• Refrigerated food items
• Flammable/Hazardous Items
• Animals
• Items and supplies for non-CU approved events
• Personal Items
• Weapons
• Contraband
• Items requiring ventilation or climate control

Mailboxes

Each ABC and SDA recognized organization is assigned a mailbox on the 5 th floor. Mailboxes are organized alphabetically and are for use throughout the academic year. Please note that the boxes do not have keys and are available for you to access during normal business hours inside of Lerner Hall.

About the Student Group file and Cabinet System (510 Lerner Hall)

The SDA-Student Group File and Storage Cabinet system is a bank of file drawers and storage cabinets in various configurations located in 510 W Lerner. Each file set and cabinet configuration comes equipped with individual locks to secure items. Any ABC-recognized group is eligible to apply for one or more of a combination of cabinets and drawers as needs dictate. Groups can use the file system to store organizational records or cabinets to store small non-perishable, non-flammable items that need to be accessed on a recurrent basis. The storage system should be used as a resource to facilitate group business and not be used for storage of personal items unrelated to organizational function.

The File and Storage Cabinet system is comprised of the following:

• 15 locked file drawers (in sets of 2 and 3 drawers
• 10 overhead individually locked storage cabinets
• 3 full sized, storage cabinets containing file drawers and adjustable shelves
• 3 Mid-size combo-system (mini storage closet/file drawers)

Eligible groups can apply for File/Cabinet storage each year during the Student Group Resource Area Application process towards the end of the spring semester. The term for all assigned file and/or cabinets is one full academic year (September to May). Groups granted space would be responsible for managing the growth and maintenance of their records and/or possessions each year. As this is a fixed space, which is not likely to increase in size, access will be granted and renewed annually on a competitive basis. All groups must re-apply for their file/storage space each year and will be subject to re-adjustments on granted space based on current levels of demand and need.

Year-End Procedures And Overall Space Maintenance

At the end of the academic year (May), student groups are notified of a year-end cleaning of the 5 th Floor Student Group Resource Area by the SGO Manager. All items left unsecured are discarded in the clean-up. Student groups who leave items in the space will incur a fee on their group’s account to cover the additional Facilities charges for discarding materials, especially boxes and heavy items.

As part of the contract of leasing the space, student groups are expected to maintain the space, including reporting spills, leaks, furniture damage and other issues to the SGO Manager (sgo@columbia.edu) or to Facilities Management at x4-2222. Groups are also expected to return chairs and tables if they have been re-arranged to accommodate a meeting. Officers are expected to treat one another with respect in the space as it is shared amongst many different groups and students. Failure to comply with any of these policies can result in termination of a group’s space holding.

Groups should not utilize the common areas to store items as they do so at their own risk with the understanding that items may be discarded as daily maintenance requires and in accordance with fire codes.

Summer access

Access to the 5 th Floor Student Group Resource Area is limited during the summer months. NSOP, COOP, and CUE, pre-orientation and orientation programs, utilize the space from May through early September and student groups must send a request to access the space in advance to Ty González, Manager of Leadership Programs, via email (tg164@columbia.edu). Requests are granted on a limited basis and as a general rule groups should not plan to utilize the space during the summer months.