Smith Departments
Events & Activities

Events & Activities in Smith Stakeholder Assigned Spaces 

Summary

This is an outline of the scheduling and event use process for all Smith Memorial Student Union stakeholders with assigned spaces in Smith.

Stakeholder spaces include offices, resource centers, cultural centers and departments assigned by the Space Allocation Committee. Smith Memorial Student Union (SMSU) is managed by the Campus Events & Student Union (CESU) office and funded by Portland State University and student fees through the Student Fee Committee. 

These protocols on hosting activities in stakeholder spaces in SMSU are:

• to ensure scheduling coordination, equity and transparency regarding the use of the student union

• to ensure the overall health and safety of all its users.

Guidelines

The current guidelines for events in assigned stakeholder spaces in Smith are:

• Following University policies on fee collection, insurance, and risk management, all programming that happens in a non-CESU scheduled space must meet the mission and purpose of the sponsoring department and the department must be present and responsible for the planning and facilitation of the event.  

• Only CESU is allowed to charge for space in Smith Memorial Student Union. If a department determines that an event request falls outside their mission oriented programming, the requestor should be redirected to CESU to find dedicated event space in SMSU.

• CESU requires events or meetings that are outside of the day-to-day office use held in stakeholder spaces in SMSU — such as office suites, resource centers, cultural centers or non-common study areas — to be scheduled in the current event scheduling system (25Live as of the writing of this document). This can be done for any event or meeting but MUST be done when any or all of the following criteria apply: 

  • • Events being held outside of Smith’s general public building hours or requiring additional building access changes. Access changes for events should be done through the building manager. Events occurring outside of the posted badge hours will require additional approval from Smith management.

    • Event is serving food/providing catering to event, programming, or activity attendees.

    • When requesting equipment rentals from CESU or Materials Management for the event or related activities.

    • When external clients/community members are in attendance.

    • If there are non-PSU enrolled minors (under 18 years of age) in attendance. 

    • When ticketing through the University Box Office or other approved service is requested or required. Using other services may incur an opt-out fee by the University Box Office.

• The aforementioned activities that meet these conditions should be reflected in the Scheduling System no later than 10 business days. These events scheduled after this deadline should notify CESU immediately in writing to ensure the building operations can support their event needs. These late events will be approved on a case-by-case basis in consultation with the department to ensure safety and rules are followed.

• Smith building management and campus safety need to be informed when an event will include “VIP” or high profile attendees. In most instances, additional planning for access and security staffing will be required.  

• All events being held in departmental or organization spaces within Smith must follow the egress and safety protocols laid out in Event Planning Fire Safety Guidelines Document. 

  • • Stakeholders are responsible for ensuring that events in their spaces do not exceed fire safety occupancy capacities. Contact the Smith building manager if you are not sure of your capacity.

    • Stakeholders are responsible for ensuring applicable guidelines are met, and if necessary, for securing any required permits to host events in spaces (noise, fire, etc.). 

• Any stakeholder hosting an event that will provide food and/or alcohol in SMSU are subject to PSU’s Food Service Agreement.
  CESU can impose a $500 fine to departments that do not adhere to this policy. 

• If hallways, study lounges or other common areas within Smith are needed for your event, stakeholders must work with building management to confirm there are no conflicts with other activities in the student union and to ensure safety protocols are being met. Some common areas may require a formal reservation and facility use fees may apply to book said spaces.
  Contact the building manager to arrange use of these spaces.

• Please balance vibrancy with courtesy. While Smith values the lively, collaborative energy that makes our campus thrive, please help ensure that activities and conversations remain at a volume that is respectful of neighboring departments and all building users. Events/activities in Smith must adhere to the city of Portland’s noise control code. For more information contact CESU. CESU can help secure noise permits should your event need to exceed code. 

• CESU can organize equipment drop offs and pick ups for departmental event needs. Please visit CESU’s website to book a rental. Basic equipment provided by CESU (tables, chairs) is free to Smith stakeholders for use within SMSU. Additional fees may apply for speciality equipment (example: podiums, pipe-and-drape, stages). 

  • • PCRE’s Materials Management also rents event equipment. Stakeholders are responsible for any costs associated with those rentals.

CESU encourages all stakeholders to add their event programming to 25Live regardless of the aforementioned requirements. 

This allows for building management, other Smith stakeholders and campus emergency services to be aware of these activities. While the event can be seen by CESU and emergency services in 25Live, it doesn’t have to be made viewable to the public. Event Permissions for your areas can be customized and programmed to suit your needs.

• For more information or support with 25Live please contact the External and University Events Manager (Vacant at the moment)

• For more detailed information on CESU organized events in Smith please see the CESU Facility Use Procedures. If you want to book an event through CESU in one of their meeting/event spaces, please visit their website. 

These protocols are the current guidelines, are subject to annual review or when necessary. They will be incorporated into formal agreements between stakeholders and SMSU Management in the future.

Mercedes Youngston — Smith Building Manager

October 2025