Tips for Student Groups

PLEASE NOTE: Student events and meetings must be registered through the Office of Student Life. A representative from OSL will request your space through the Master Calendar

Working with Campus Dining:

Second-floor rooms in Johnson Student Center for meetings:

A representative of OSL will submit your space request .
Do not use JSC if you want to order a food-out event on meal plans – select a room elsewhere.
Catered events take precedence over meetings; you may be requested to move a meeting to another space.
No outside food may be brought into the rooms (Marketplace and Tiger Cooler food is okay).
Please contact Marie Garcia to request a special room setup or place a catering order AFTER the space has been confirmed.

Planning an event in Samuelson Pavilion (the Tiger Cooler)

A representative of OSL will submit your space request .
Do not do this if you want to order a food-out event on meal plans; please select a room elsewhere.
The seating area at the south end of the building may only be reserved when the Tiger Cooler is closed.
Events must begin at 8 p.m. or later.
The space may be booked as a rain plan for daytime or evening events.
Campus Dining does the furniture moving and stage setup in the building. One week’s advance notice of your desired set-up is required.
You must clean up after your event.
You may not block or impede the Tiger Cooler operation during business hours.
If you would like to use the walls in the main room for an exhibit (no advertising), OSL will submit your request online to the Master Calendar. The maximum duration for an exhibit is seven days. The College is not responsible for lost or damaged exhibits.

Marketplace Theme Meals:

• Are you sponsoring a special day, week or month on campus this school year?
• Interested in complementing your event(s) with a theme meal in the Marketplace?

Here's what you need to do...

1. E-mail Campus Dining with the following information
a. Name of your organization
b. Name of your event, week, month or series
c. Your ideas for a theme meal
d. Your preferred date(s) - in order to give as many groups as possible access to theme meals, the maximum will be 2 per organization
e. Contact information - name, e-mail, phone #

2. Be prepared to assist with recipes, decorations, publicity - tell us what you can do!

3. Note - due to staffing, most theme meals are scheduled as lunches, Tuesday through Friday

4. If your group has regularly had an annual theme meal scheduled in the past, YOU MUST GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS AND SUBMIT A REQUEST.

5. Not all requests can be approved. The more information and flexibility you give us, the more likely we can fit your theme meal into the schedule. We're sorry, but late requests will not be considered.

Submissions are due no later than 6 class weeks (breaks not included) before the first date you request. THE EARLIER YOU SUBMIT, THE BETTER YOUR CHANCES OF BEING SELECTED.

Other Event-Related Information:

Resource 25 is the computer program that supports the Master Calendar.
Campus Dining is one of the departments involved in approving events.
FOOD SAFETY: If your event involves food service, you will be asked to tell us what you are serving. Some food is potentially hazardous – we will give you guidance for minimizing risk. At least one club member attending the event must have been trained on food safety and be present and actively responsible for food safety for duration of the event.
You may bring your own food into most facilities: Exceptions are the second floor of Johnson Student Center and the Guest House.
Caterers or vendors selling or giving away food are not permitted on campus unless a fundraising exception has been approved by the Associate Vice President for Hospitality Services.
If your event is in Johnson Student Center or Samuelson Pavilion, we will work with you on logistics.

Ordering food on meal plans

See the Student Food Out Event Guidelines
One student may pay for only one meal per meal period.
Food is to be consumed in buildings other than Johnson Student Center and Samuelson Pavilion.
Your list of ID numbers and signed contract must be submitted five (5) days before the event to Robert Torres. The food is for student group dining only and may not be donated or sold.
Offerings are limited to complete meals and specified menus.
Catering may not be charged to meal plans.

Ordering catered food

Use your network login and password to access our menu and price list .
Catering must be paid for by cash, check or club account #.
Contact Marie Garcia for refreshment orders (three business days notice is required) or Robert Torres for meals and special events (one to four weeks notice, depending on the scope).
The College’s catering policy also is online.

Food Vendors On-Campus for Fundraising Purposes

Occidental College advocates for recognized student clubs to be self-sustaining, hence supports fundraising efforts by such organizations. Occidental College's Catering Policy prohibits the presence of off-campus food vendors on Occidental's premises for fundraising purposes. The Associate Vice President for Hospitality Services can grant exceptions to this policy. Exceptions may be considered under the following provisions:

The event must not be held in the same building that Campus Dining has an operating facility (e.g., Johnson Student Center, Samuelson Pavilion)
The vendor must satisfy liability, auto, and workman's compensation insurance requirements, as required by the Director of Risk Management
The vendor must satisfy food and health safety requirements (if applicable), as required by the Associate Vice President for Hospitality Services
The sponsoring student organization must receive at least 20% of proceeds

All requests will be considered, however if the following provisions can be met, those requests will be granted priority consideration:

The fundraising event is being held during hours in which Occidental dining operations are closed or services limited
Products being sold are not in direct conflict with what Occidental dining operations currently offer
Placement of the event is advantageous to the College community, in that the event is placed in an area not closely served by dining operations

Requests must be received by the Office of Student Life 4-6 weeks in advance of proposed fundraising event (6 weeks is needed for vendors that have not previously done business with the College). Staff from OSL will discuss the request with Hospitality Services.

Scheduling events in Gresham Dining Room

Request the space through the Office of Student Life at least six weeks in advance. The space is available only on Saturday nights. A maximum of two events per semester may be held, subject to space availability.
Your event must be an all-campus event of 300 guests or more.
A minimum of $1,500 in catering must be purchased, or a labor fee of $500 will apply. No outside food may be brought in.
Special procedures apply. This information is available in the Campus Dining office.

Advertising and table tents

No advertising may be posted on the walls, fixtures or entrance areas of the Marketplace and Gresham Dining Room, restrooms or the meeting rooms on the second floor of Johnson Student Center.
Advertising for campus events and services may be posted only on the sides of the entrance to the Samuelson Pavilion. No posting is permitted on doors, glass, patios or inside the building.
Table tents advertising campus events and services may be placed on the dining tables in the Gresham Dining Room and Samuelson Pavilion with advance approval by Amy Muñoz . Table tents should be made of heavy stock paper and must stand up on their own. The maximum advertising time is seven calendar days. Table tents advertising external events or services or endorsing candidates will not be accepted. Campus Dining does not take responsibility for the loss or damage of table tents.