• Collegiate Licensing
• Freedom of Expression
• Concessions
• Posting Materials on Campus
• Student Organization Web Sites
• Marketing Resources

Collegiate Licensing

Texas A&M University Student Rules require student organizations to have advance approval before using A&M trademarks and logos. The Recognized Student Organization Trademark Usage Policy is as follows:

"The Business Development Office on behalf of Texas A&M University has federally registered the logos, symbols, names and marks, of the university. The university has delegated the responsibility for maintaining, managing and licensing university trademarks to the Business Development Office. All recognized campus clubs and organizations must seek advance approval from the Business Development Office prior to producing or purchasing any product(s) for internal, commercial or promotional use. All products must be manufactured and purchased from, an officially licensed vendor. For a list of local licensed vendors or licensing assistance please contact the Business Development Office at (979) 845-4621, visit room 205 Bizzell Hall East, or review the website at www.tamu.edu/marcomm/business.

All products will be subject to the current standard royalty rate or right fees established by the University if a  University trademark is utilized and/or:

1. The product is for resale.
2. The product promotes a specific even for which a fee is charged.
3. The name, mark or logo of a third party is used with the University trademark.

Recognized student clubs and organizations may seek a royalty waiver from the Business Development Office if products are freely distributed and do not fall into one of the three categories above.

Trademarks are updated continually. A current listing of trademarks is available from the Business Development Office or online at www.tamu.edu/trademarks."

Freedom of Expression

Student Rule Appendix XI states that, “Texas A&M University is committed to providing an educational and work climate that is conducive to the personal and professional development of each individual.  In fulfilling its multiple missions as an institution of higher learning, it encourages the free exchange of ideas.  The university will protect the rights of freedom of speech, expression, petition and peaceful assembly as set forth in the U.S. Constitution.  Texas A&M University maintains its right to regulate reasonable time, place and manner restrictions concerning acts of expression and dissent.”  Ideas or expressions put forth in expressive activities are not necessarily the views of Texas A&M University, its officers, administrators, or leaders, unless otherwise noted.

The properties of the university are designated as traditional public forums, designated public forums, limited public forums, or non-public forums.  Student organizations can access all of those areas except non-public forums for their expressive activity.  (Examples of non-public forums include classrooms, residence hall rooms, faculty and staff offices, academic buildings, administration buildings, medical treatment facilities, libraries, and research and computer laboratories.)  Availability of space for student organization use may also be limited by distance requirements, crowd placement restrictions, and security concerns.  Please see http://student-rules.tamu.edu/append11 for a more detailed explanation of the difference between these types of forums.

Rudder Fountain Area, Lawrence Sullivan Ross Statue Area, and the West Mall Area are “designated free speech areas” and can be reserved at the request of students and non-students for expressive activity.  The act of confirming a reservation will ensure the availability of space.  Please note that sound equipment is not prohibited at the Lawrence Sullivan Ross Statue Area or West Mall Area, and the volume of any sound equipment used at the Rudder Fountain Area must be kept at a level that would not interfere with any academic or other program taking place in nearby buildings.

The guidelines for expressive activity of student organizations are listed below:

1. Disruptive Activity:  Obstruction, disruption or interference with classes, research, administrative functions or other university activities is not permitted. Likewise, infringement on the rights of others is prohibited.
2. Reasonable Access:  It is important to provide reasonable access to, and exit from, any office, classroom, laboratory or building. Likewise, vehicular and pedestrian traffic should not be obstructed.
3. Picketing:  Picketing in an orderly manner outside of university buildings may be permitted.  Such activities should not become disruptive nor should they impede access.  Picketing is not permitted inside campus buildings.
4. Literature:  Literature may be distributed in traditional and designated free speech areas. (Distribution of commercial literature requires a separate concessions permit.)  Such activities should not become disruptive nor should they impede access.
5. Symbolic Protest:  Displaying a sign, gesturing, wearing symbolic clothing or otherwise protesting silently is permissible unless it is a disruptive activity or impedes access.  In addition, such acts should not block the audience’s view or prevent the audience from being able to pay attention.
6. Noise:  Making sustained or repeated noise in a manner that substantially interferes with a speaker’s ability to communicate his/her message is not permitted.  Noise levels should not interfere with classes, meetings or activities in progress or the privacy of residence hall students.
7. Force or Violence:  Any attempt to prevent a university activity or other lawful assembly by the threat or use of force or violence is not permissible.
8. Presenting Identification:  In accordance with the Texas Education Code, it is unlawful for any person on any property either owned or controlled by the university to refuse to identify him/herself to a university official in response to a request.  For the purpose of these rules a person identifies him/herself by presenting student or faculty/staff ID card or state issued ID card.
9. Damage to Property:  Any damage to university or personal property in the course of, or as a result of, an expressive activity is prohibited.  Care should be taken to ensure that university and personal property is not damaged or destroyed.  This includes the campus lawns, shrubs and trees.
10. Guiding Boundaries:  All individuals participating in expressive activity are expected to comply with state and federal law, municipal ordinances, Texas A&M University Student Rules and the above guidelines.  Failure to do so may result in immediate removal from the campus and any other appropriate action by university officials and/or University Police.

Concessions

The Concessions Guidelines were established to protect students and sponsoring student organizations from the possible problems and ramifications that arise from dealing with unrestricted outside vendors.  The guidelines are set up to assist in creating an educational environment that promotes the freedom of association and the exchange of ideas while maintaining an atmosphere conducive to classroom instruction and campus access.

Concessions are defined as any public sales or solicitation on the Texas A&M University Campus.  Solicitation is defined as advertising, the taking of orders, donations, collection, and distribution of information.  “Campus” is defined as all University-owned property located in Brazos County, Texas, including Hensel Park, Student Apartments, Research Park, and the Riverside Campus.  The term “solicit” is defined as advertising, the taking of orders, sales, donations, proselytizing, campaigning (political or other), collection and distribution of literature.

Only recognized student organizations or university departments may conduct concessions on campus. There are very limited exceptions to this rule, including vendors with explicit sales contracts with the university and groups with a TAMU affiliation (e.g. Aggie Moms Clubs or The Association of Former Students).  The main guidelines for successful concessions permit requests are:

1. The concessions request must relate to the mission and purpose of the sponsoring organization.
2. An organization’s requests for concessions permits are limited to five days in a 30-day period, to provide equal access to all organizations.  If your request exceeds this parameter, you will need permission from the concessions administrators well in advance of your activity.
3. A request for a concessions permit must be made at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the event.

After the concession, all money that is collected must be deposited into the organization's SOFC account by the end of the business day on which the concession was held.  The student organization must retain a copy of the deposit slip for record keeping purposes.  A night lock box at the SOFC will allow safe keeping of money over the weekend or holiday periods.  Failure to deposit all money in a timely manner will result in a suspension of your SOFC and Concessions privileges.

More detailed information found on the concessions web site includes:

• Policies and procedures for the sale or distribution of items for commercial purposes
• Policies and procedures for the distribution of applications and promotional materials
• Policies and procedures for the sale of items by non-profit, non-student organizations
• Situations involving sale or distribution of items that do not require a concessions permit
• A list of reasons your concessions permit request may be rejected or denied
• Guidelines for conducted concessions once you are granted a permit
• A link to download the concessions request form

Please visit http://studentactivities.tamu.edu/concessions to read about these topics in depth.

Posting Materials on Campus

At Texas A&M University, only recognized student organizations, university offices and governmental or educational agencies are allowed to utilize bulletin boards, kiosks, or other designated posting areas for posting purposes.  Personal one-of-a-kind notices from students, faculty, or staff are limited to authorized areas marked for “personal notices.”  If your student organization is sponsoring an outside group or agency, copies of written agreements pertaining to the event must be provided.  Sponsorship implies participation in the organization, promotion, scheduling, and production of the event by members of the sponsoring organization.

The general posting guidelines are as follows:

1. Any recognized student organization classified as a “social and political issues” organization must include the following statement on all postings:  “The opinions and views expressed do not represent those of Texas A&M University."
2. All postings located on bulletin boards and kiosks must be no larger than 616 square inches (22” x 28”).
3. There will be a maximum of one (1) flyer or poster per bulletin board and no more than four (4) per kiosk of each posting material.
4. All postings must contain the name of the responsible student organization or individual and a clearly visible expiration date.
5. Persons or organizations that post materials are responsible for removal of material when the posting date has expired.  An expiration date will be considered one day following the date of the event.
6. The posting period may not normally exceed three weeks.
7. Materials printed in a foreign language must have the same information presented in English and must have the name of the organization and the expiration date printed in English.
8. A non-university co-sponsor's or private business' name can appear only one time on a banner, poster, or flyer and cannot exceed 100% of the typeface used on a poster (11” x 17”) or banner.
9. Materials should not overlap or conceal other postings.
10. Materials must be attached to bulletin boards so as not to deface or destroy the surface.  Signs, posters, or flyers will be attached to cork boards with tacks, and kiosks with tacks or masking tape.  No scotch tape or staples are to be used.
11. Materials must not be attached to glass surfaces, vehicle windshields, indoor or outdoor walls/doors, vending machines, trashcans, trees, light posts, sidewalks, or other similarly unauthorized locations.
12. Chalking of sidewalks is prohibited.
13. Additional authorizations and/or restrictions that may be required by building or area proctors, residence hall councils, or departmental units in certain public areas and buildings on campus will be posted.
14. All posting not adhering to these or other applicable University guidelines and regulations will be removed, and any sponsoring campus organization may be subject to loss of posting privileges, suspension of university recognition, and/or potential disciplinary action.

Student Organization Web Sites

Use of computing services at Texas A&M University is governed by the Standard Administrative Procedure for Acceptable Use of Information Resources, which can be located at http://rules-saps.tamu.edu/PDFs/29.01.99.M1.pdf.  Student organizations must be familiar with these guidelines before requesting an account.

The privileges of student organization recognition include 500 MB of web space, a 40 MB email account, and a mailing list account through the Department of Student Activities.  Additional space may be granted at the discretion of the department.  The email accounts of recognized student organizations are not to be used for spamming or commercial gain.  Please see http://studentactivities.tamu.edu/files/stuorgguidelines.pdf for a complete list of the Hosting Guidelines for student organization email and web sites.

Student Activities now offers an easy and instant way to get your organization's web site off the ground: the Drupal Content Management System (see http://drupal.org/).  With Drupal, your organization's web site is built, installed, and set up automatically by our team.  All you have to do is log into your new web site and start creating content.  This service is available free of charge to any actively recognized student organization listed in our StuAct Online system.  To get started with Drupal and select your themes/header image, please visit http://studentactivities.tamu.edu/IT/drupal.

If your organization wishes to consult the Information Technology (IT) staff members for web sites, training, or other projects, you will need to fill out a Project Planning Form.  This form can be obtained in the Department of Student Activities.  Forms for unchanged existing projects must be submitted 2 months in advance of the “go-live” date, and forms for new or modified projects must be submitted 4 months in advance of the “go-live” date.

Marketing Resources

** For updated information about placement of banners, kiosks, and other MSCC resources, please visit the MSCC Relocation Guide at http://msclivingtradition.tamu.edu/Minutes/relocationguide.pdf. ** 

Sandwich Boards

A sandwich board is defined as any outdoor free-standing advertisement of any kind.  Recognized student organizations are eligible to advertise with sandwich boards up to two (2) weeks in a calendar month.  Sandwich boards may not be used to advertise off-campus businesses or organizations, and must comply with all university policies regarding publicity and posting.  Sandwich board permit applications can be obtained at http://studentactivities.tamu.edu/files/oap8.pdf.  They are only permitted on certain locations on campus and have specifications for what can be displayed; see http://studentactivities.tamu.edu/sandwichboards for a complete list of these limitations.

Banners and Display Cases

There are twelve banner spaces (21’ by 2’) on the first floor south hallway of the MSCC. The banner spaces on the first floor of the Memorial Student Center Complex (MSCC) exist for the purpose of disseminating information about events sponsored by recognized student organizations and university departments.  A reservation request form must be completed in writing and submitted to the Student Programs Office in room 216 of the MSCC.  Banner slots may be requested no sooner than 28 days in advance of the initial day of the requested period, and the maximum time for use of a banner is ten days within any four-week period. Banners may also be hung in Zachry and Blocker with permission from the building proctors.

Painting of banners within university facilities is only allowed in the MSCC Banner Workroom, which is located on the first floor southeast corner of the MSCC and is available 24 hours a day.  See the MSCC Main Desk for assistance in checking out the key to the Banner Workroom.

You can also request the use of MSCC display or kiosk cases, and again the reservation request forms are available in the Student Programs Office in the MSC.  Display/kiosk cases may be requested no sooner than 28 days in advance of the initial day of the requested period.

Get Involved! Newsletter

Student organizations can advertise their events through the Get Involved! newsletter produced bi-weekly by the Department of Student Activities.  These stories will be listed on http://studentactivities.tamu.edu/getinvolved and the home page of the department.  They will also be sent out to every student who has signed up for the involvement newsletter to hear about new opportunities on campus.  Submissions can be sent to the Extended Orientation and Involvement team.

Calendars

The Department of Student Activities maintains several calendars for public use, which are available at http://studentactivities.tamu.edu/events and include the All-University Calendar, Semester Calendar, and lists of Sponsored/Authorized Activities.  All items submitted for the semester calendars and for the annual All-University Calendar date book will be posted on a first-come, first-serve basis.  Submission of this information implies permission for the Department of Student Activities to distribute any of the data (phone numbers, names of contact persons, etc.) to other publications requesting the information.

Division of Marketing and Communications

The Division of Marketing and Communications offers services in building marketing plans, news and external relations, and university business relationships.  Staff members from Marketing and Communications are available to assist student organizations with print, video, and photo needs, press releases, and general marketing consultation.  More information about this office’s services and location can be found at http://www.tamu.edu/marcomm/.