Campus Publicity Guidelines

The UW-La Crosse publicity guidelines have been developed by the Student Organizations Committee and approved through the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Student Association. These guidelines are an administrative function of University Centers.

Campus publicity is designed to provide the university community with information that will enhance the educational environment, information that leads to greater affiliation, cultural awareness, and educational opportunities.

The university accepts no responsibility or liability for posted materials, including content. The university reserves the right to remove publicity on registered boards that does not adhere to publicity guidelines.

University Centers is charged with carrying out the publicity guidelines. Any appeals of the interpretation of or exceptions to the Campus Publicity Guidelines must be directed to the Student Organizations Committee.

Notification of infractions to any portion of the Campus Publicity Guidelines by a student, organization, or university unit should be submitted in writing to University Centers, attention Student Organizations Committee Advisor. Please review the section on violations for more information.

Questions about Publicity on Campus should be directed to The COVE Administration Desk: email thecove@uwlax.edu, in person at 2200 Student Union, or 608-785-8866.

1. General Requirements for Publicity
   
   1. Policies and regulations for each building may vary. For clarification on building guidelines, see the Building Directors or The COVE Administration Desk, 2200 Student Union.
   2. Reservations are required for outdoor banner space.
      
      1. Requests are granted on a first-come, first-serve basis and should be completed at least two weeks or more prior to the date needed. It is recommended to reserve as early as possible.
      2. Outdoor banner space is available on the exterior of Whitney Center (up to four banners on walkway railing),
         and a request must be submitted online.
   3. Residence Hall Publicity
      
      1. Each Residence Hall has 1 or 2 Registered Bulletin Boards. Posting policies on these boards are the same as other Registered Bulletin Boards on campus. Please visit the Residence Life Office during business hours for a key.
      2. Publicity from any group or student organization outside of Residence Life will be limited to the Registered
         Boards only. Residence Life Staff will not post fliers from outside organizations in their community.
2. General Publicity Information
   
   1. Sponsoring organizations are responsible for posting and removal of their own publicity following the event.
   2. Publicity must be for activities or events open to the campus community or for information that enhances the educational campus environment.
   3. All publicity must feature the event being advertised. The event must be visually prominent in comparison to non-university or commercial logos, pictures, etc. advertising other products.
   4. All publicity should include the name of the sponsoring organization, contact person, date and time of event, department, or business.
   5. Any publicity that may go against the educational mission of the university (i.e. racist, degrading, and/or potentially offensive) is not allowed.
   6. Publicity must not interfere with the normal flow of traffic.
   7. Advertising of alcohol or drug related sponsors is not allowed, unless special approval is given through University Centers. Publicity that encourages the abuse or excessive consumption of alcohol is prohibited.
3. Required Information – General Use and Registered Publicity
   
   1. All materials must be computer generated or of comparable quality. NO hand drawn artwork, sketches, or pictures will be registered.
   2. The name of the sponsoring university organization, department, contact information, or business must appear on publicity.
   3. All publicity should contain the date, time, contact information, and location of the event, and any other descriptive information.
4. Publicity Locations
   
   1. Fliers can only be posted on bulletin boards designated by the director of each university building. A listing of building directors and locations of registered and general use bulletin boards is included on the last page of the guidelines.
   2. Digital Sign advertisements can be approved for placement on TV Monitors in the following locations:
      
      • Whitney Center - Main Dining Room (3), Chars (1), Convenience Store (1)
      • Student Union - The U (throughout the building)
      • Campus-wide building locations – Centennial Hall, Center for the Arts, Graff Main Hall, Mitchell Hall, Morris Hall, Murphy Library, Prairie Springs, and Wimberly Hall
   3. Outdoor banner space is available on the exterior of Whitney Center (up to four banners on walkway railing), and a request must be submitted online.
   4. Publicity is prohibited at outdoor locations including on trees, light poles, garbage cans, fences, exterior walls and the Hoeschler Clock Tower. Exceptions are outdoor designated bulletin boards, banners, and chalking locations.
   5. Publicity is prohibited on windows, ceilings, walls, lights, doors, mirrors, bathroom stalls, backs of chairs, etc. of all university buildings, unless authorized by the building director of that building.
   6. Publicity is prohibited from being distributed in classrooms, including being placed on desks and chairs.
   7. Directional or informational publicity for an event is acceptable on interior walls with prior registration from University Centers. This publicity must be removed within two hours following the event being advertised. Please contact Reservations for additional signage.
5. Violations
   
   1. Materials found in violation of the publicity guidelines will be removed and the sponsoring organization or department will be contacted according to the following procedures:
      
      1. First violation – a letter will be sent to the organization, explaining the violation with a copy of the policies.
      2. Second violation – a letter to the organization’s chief officer or adviser, or both. (In the case of a department, to the chairperson and possibly the appropriate dean.)
      3. Third violation – will result in written notification to the organization and adviser, or the department, that posting privileges on campus have been revoked for the remainder of the semester in which the infraction occurs.
      4. Fourth violation – organization will receive written notification of the violation and a referral to the Student Organizations Committee, and, where appropriate, to the Student Court. In addition to any action which might be taken against individuals referred, the Student Organizations Committee may consider the revocation of recognition of the organization involved, and take such action as is deemed appropriate.
6. Bulletin Boards/Fliers
   a. General Information
   i. Bulletin boards are primarily for posting fliers/handbills/posters with a maximum size of 22” x 28”.
   ii. Publicity larger than 8-1/2” x 14” must be hung from the bottom of the unregistered boards.
   iii. Publicity on both types of boards may be posted for any length of time within the same semester. Class posters
   will need to be removed following the drop date deadline.
   iv. **Only one flier per board is allowed.
   v. Fliers can be attached to bulletin boards using thumbtacks or masking tape. No staples or transparent tape
   may be used.
   vi. Posting over/defacing other fliers is prohibited.
   vii. All boards are cleared at the end of each semester.
   b. Registered Boards
   i. Provided for publicity of university groups sponsoring campus events, activities, and education.
   ii. Identified by an orange sign at the upper left corner of the board reading “Registered Publicity Only.”
   iii. Fliers must be stamped “Registered” by University Centers or include a graphics logo to indicate approval for
   registered boards. A copy will be kept on file by University Centers.
   → Register fliers at The COVE Administration Desk, 2200 Student Union or for a digital stamp contact
   covegraphics@uwlax.edu.
   c. Unregistered Boards – general use (must abide by all general publicity guidelines)
   i. Provided for general publicity of interest to the university population.
   ii. Examples of unregistered publicity include buy, sell, rent, and non-university items.
   iii. Boards have a yellow identifying sign at the upper left corner, reading “General Use Bulletin Board.”
   iv. Items are not required to be stamped.
   v. Boards are cleared of undated and outdated material on a regular basis.
   7. Digital Sign Advertisements - see the Digital Sign Information website for instructions for both Whitney/UWL Student
   Union and campus wide buildings: https://share.uwlax.edu/Account/Login/?ReturnUrl=%2fdigital-sign
   8. Digital Slides will not be approved unless your event is posted on your organization’s events page on MyOrgs.
   a. Publicity advertisements can be in the form of an individual PowerPoint slide formatted for 20" width x 11.25"
   height in the page setup. Submit the PowerPoint file to: Share.uwlax.edu
   i. Log in with your Net ID and Password and follow the instructions
   b. If using another graphics software program to create your slide, send it in the horizontal (landscape) format, 20"
   width x 11.25" height with a minimum 150 dpi resolution as a JPEG or PNG file.
   c. The PowerPoint slide must feature all of the event information including sponsor(s) name and contact information.
   d. The electronic advertisement (slide) must be received in University Centers (share.uwlax.edu) prior to the start date.
   e. The slide is displayed for only 10 seconds, make certain those viewing can read it in this time. (Slides may also be
   viewed on campus for Whitney Center and Student Union or Academic Buildings).
   f. Check carefully for typos before submitting a slide.
   g. The slide can remain on TV Monitors for up to 10 days with a two-week break in between if the slide is requested
   to run again.
7. Fliers & Handbills
   a. Handbills - materials that are 4-1/4” x 5-1/2” or smaller may be distributed individually with the proper
   University Reservations approval.
   b. May NOT be distributed in any confined space or left on any tables in any buildings (dining halls, lounges,
   classrooms, building entrances, or taped on backs of chairs, etc.)
   c. May not be slipped under doors in the residence halls or stuffed in mailboxes. (Contact the Office of Residence
   Life for distribution information).
   d. Placing handbills on cars in UWL parking lots is prohibited.
   e. Sponsoring organizations are responsible for picking up any fliers or handouts that may be dropped by those
   receiving them.
   10. Outdoor Banners
   a. Outdoor Banner requests and space can be reserved by using the online form.
   b. Banner requests must be submitted at least 21 days prior to date needed.
   c. All Banners will be made by University Centers COVE staff and cannot be reused.
   d. Banners may not be longer than 5-1/2 feet.
   e. Banners cannot be up more than seven days.
   f. Banners must be removed by the sponsoring organization within 24 hours after an event. Banners can be taken to
   The COVE Administration Desk, 2200 Student Union, for recycling if the organization does not want to keep.
   11. Chalking & Painting
   a. Indoor Chalking
   i. Not allowed on chalkboards/whiteboards located in the front of classrooms.
   ii. Color chalk is prohibited on chalkboards.
   iii. Permission from the building director is required prior to chalking side chalkboards/whiteboards in classrooms.
   b. Outdoor Chalking
   i. Permissible on sidewalks only.
   ii. Must be at least 20 ft. from an entrance of a building
   iii. Prohibited near entrances, under overhangs of entrances, and on all university structures.
   iv. Spray chalk is prohibited.
   c. Painting
   i. Painting with permanent or temporary paints is not permitted at any time.
   ii. Painting of snow using spray bottles and colored water is permitted.
   12. Solicitation
   a. University facilities, including lounges, offices, and classrooms, may not be used for solicitation of university faculty,
   staff, and students by organizations.
8. Political Campaigning and Elections
   a. Publicity privileges will be granted to persons who are bona fide candidates (fully satisfied all criteria to be listed
   on the official ballot) for election to public offices (campus, city, county, state, or federal).
   b. Equal campaign opportunities will be afforded to all candidates.
   c. Policies and procedures for campaigning in the residence halls may be found in the following link: Campaigning in
   the residence halls.
   d. The candidate and/or the candidate’s organization are responsible for distribution and removal of all publicity
   distributed on behalf of the candidate.
   e. All publicity must include “authorized and paid for by” or “AAPFB” and the last name of the candidate’s campaign
   committee that has authorized and paid for the advertisement. Contact phone number is permitted.
   f. Individual campaigning information may be advertised on the UWL campus through, the use of unregistered
   boards, TV Digital ads (Whitney Center and the Student Union only), handbills distributed at accepted locations,
   and chalking.
   g. There shall be no campaigning or campaign literature within 100 feet of any designated polling place.
   h. Digital Sign advertisements (Whitney Center and the Student Union only) for political candidates for campus
   elections must include: the name of the candidate/candidate’s organization; dates, times, and locations of voting on
   campus; “authorized and paid for by” or “AAPFB” and last name of the candidate’s campaign committee which
   has authorized and paid for advertisement.
   14. Publications
   a. Free publications may be distributed on campus after approval is granted by each Individual Department or
   Building Manager.
   15. Disability Access Statement
   a. The Office of Affirmative Action and Diversity is strongly encouraging the university community to adhere to the
   following Disability Access Statements.
   b. When planning conferences, events, and activities, designate a representative from your organization to be
   responsible for handling requests for accommodations. You may call Disability Resource Services at 785-6900 for
   assistance with arranging and implementing accommodations.
   c. In registration brochures, invitations or fliers use the following access statement: “To request disability
   accommodations (accessible seating, interpreting, closed captioning, FM systems, etc.), contact (name,
   organization, address, phone number.)”
   d. Publications such as organization bulletins, program brochures, schedule, newsletters, and instructional publications
   must be provided in alternative formats (Braille, large print, tape, electronic) upon request.
   e. In these publications use the following statement: “This publication/material is available in alternative formats
   upon request. Please contact (name, organization, address, phone number).”
   NOTE: A LISTING OF REGISTERED AND GENERAL USE BULLETIN BOARDS MAY BE FOUND A