Planning An Event

The content on this page is designed to help you with planning activities for your student organization. Please contact the Dean of Students Office with any questions.

Plan a meeting

1. Reserve a room through the Office of Event Scheduling and Support
2. Publicize the meeting
3. Send an e-mail to your organization listserv
4. Cater the event

Plan an Event

Invite a Speaker

1. Extend an invitation to the individual(s) you would like to speak via e-mail, mail, or fax.
2. If the person is a head of state, head of government, cabinet minister, or high American official or leader, or can be considered “famous” (also referred to as high profile), contact the Dean of Students Office.  We will then work with you and the University Marshal’s Office.
   • Why do we contact the University Marshal?
     • Check to see if another group or school has plans to invite the same person. And once your organization extends an invitation, to make sure no other group sends a competing invite.
     • In certain cases, the President of Harvard or the Dean of Harvard Law School may want to personally invite an individual. The Marshal’s Office can help make that determination and walk you through the process.
3. If the speaker or any of the invited guests needs accommodations for a disability, please contact Meg DeMarco in the Dean of Students Office.
4. Reserve a room through the Special Events and Scheduling Office.
5. In your room reservation, request Media Services for all AV equipment including: microphone, projector, etc.
6. Controversial Speakers
   • Contact the Dean of Students Office if you are unsure whether a speaker is controversial.
   • Notify the Harvard Police of your event to request a detail officer: http://www.hupd.harvard.edu/forms/
   • Review the Protest and Dissent Guidelines
7. Political Candidates & Speakers
   • The President and Fellows of Harvard College is a registered 501(c)(3).  Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.  The prohibition applies to all campaigns including campaigns at the federal, state and local level.  Violation of this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes.  Those section 501(c)(3) organizations that are private foundations are subject to additional restrictions that are not described in this fact sheet:  http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=154712,00.html 

1. Publicize the event

9. Cater the event

Planning a Conference

(In general, it is best to plan conferences at least three months in advance)

1. If you would like to plan a conference, schedule a meeting with either Darris Saylors or Meg DeMarco in the Dean of Students Office.
2. Conferences are expensive. Be sure to have funding in place before you begin making any arrangements. Contact Darris Saylors in the Dean of Students Office for assistance. If you are reaching out to any law firms please consult the guidelines from the Alumni and Development Office before you begin. Refer also to information on the Milbank Tweed Student Conference Fund
3. If space is available, the Dean of Students Office will assist in reserving it for your event by working closely with the Events Office.
4. Invite Speakers (create panels based on responses)
   1. Organizations typically invite speakers known to them through personal contacts or individuals renown for work in a particular field. These invitations are sent via mail, e-mail, phone, and/or fax. Review the guidelines above regarding the invitation of a “high profile” speaker.
   2. If you are covering travel expenses (airfare, lodging, cab fare) for your guests please review the information contained in the Travel page.
5. Publicize the event
   • Submit the conference details to the HLS Events Calendar.
   • Create flyers for the conference.
     • Design can be done by an org member, or byCatherine Roach here at HLS.
     • Flyers can be printed by the HLS Copy Center or by an outside vendor such as Kinko’s/Anchor Press.
     • Review our Bulletin Board Policy, then post the flyers on the bulletin board spread across campus.
   • Update your org website to include information on your conference.

Fundraise

If you would like to raise additional funding for conferences, symposiums, workshops, or larger scale events during the year, please contact Darris Saylors to discuss how to do so. If you are planning to solicit funds from law firms, please consult the guidelines from the Alumni and Development Office. Refer also to information on the Milbank Tweed Student Conference Fund.

Create and Access a Listserv

1. Listservs can be accessed here: http://internal.law.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/coloneldomo.cgi
2. The user name and password would be the same as those for your e-mail account. So if your e-mail address is cbrown@law.harvard.edu and your password is redbaron2 then your username is cbrown and your password is redbaron2. Similarly, if you are updating the listserv for your student organization, the user name and password would be the same as for signing in for e-mail (username: studentorg password: orgrocks)

Create and Update Websites

Get an hlsorgs account

1. Contact Catherine Roach or come by the Dean of Students Office in WCC 3039.
2. Read through the Use of Name policy from our Trademark Office
3. Renew the website information each Spring with new leadership information

E-mail Accounts

Get an e-mail address

1. Sign up for an e-mail account here: http://www.law.harvard.edu/apps/its/web/ftp-studorg.php
2. Sign in to your e-mail account using Gmail. Click here for general instructions on how to use Gmail.

Change the password to your e-mail account

1. ITS can reset the password for your e-mail account.

Renew your e-mail address

(Many student organization e-mail accounts are set to expire annually on October 31.)

1. Contact the Dean of Students office at dos@law.harvard.edu to renew your account.

Reserve a Room

1. The Office of Event Scheduling & Support handles room reservations. If you are planning a conference or multi-function event, please contact The Dean of Students Office to make arrangements. For all other activities, reserve a room using the instructions below.
2. Fill out the room reservation here
3. If you have any questions about the form, or about arrangements for your event, contact events@law.harvard.edu or visit the events office on the first floor of Holmes Hall.
4. Please note that completing the online request does not constitute a reserved room. You will receive a confirmation from the events office once the room is scheduled.

Publicize an Event

1. Public and Community Calendar – Announcements on the calendar feed into News@law and the Events screens. The form for putting an event on the calendar is here or send an e-mail to publicity@law.harvard.edu.
2. Posters & Chalking – There are bulletin boards throughout the tunnels for postering and chalkboards in classrooms.

Sign up for Calendar@Law & News@Law

http://www.law.harvard.edu/news/list/daily/index.php

Use-of-Name Policy

• Publications: a student organization should visibly display its affiliation with a school on the front page of any publication it is producing by stating that it is “a student-run publication at [your school’s name].” And, on its copyright page (or relevant section), the publication must also state: “The [your school’s] name and/or shield are trademarks of the President and Fellows of Harvard College and are used by permission of Harvard University.”
• Websites: as is the case with publications, a student organization should visibly display its affiliation with the school by stating that it is “a student-run organization at [your school’s name]” or “an officially recognized student-run organization of [your school’s name].” This identity tagline needs to be placed in a prominent location on the main page of the website (typically in conjunction with the student organization’s name) and in a font size comparable to other fonts being used on the website. In addition, the website’s main page should also state: “The [your school’s] name and/or shield are trademarks of the President and Fellows of Harvard College and are used by permission of Harvard University.”

These same principles apply when a student organization is sponsoring or hosting an event; as a result, the identifying phrase should also be used on brochures, posters, publicity materials, etc.

GUEST WIRELESS NETWORK

Visitors and attendees can access the Harvard Guest Wireless Network. This network has limited access and Harvard ID holders should use the main Harvard University Wireless Network.

Catering for an Event

Contact the Restaurant Associates (RA) Catering Office at 617-495-5538 or catering@law.harvard.edu. Purchases made from RA can be paid using your organizations 33-Digit Billing Code.

You will need to indicate on the Room Request Form whether food will be provided by RA or an outside vendor. If you plan to use an outside vendor contact the Dean of Students Office to discuss payment options. Many purchases can be made over the phone or online using a DOS purchasing card.

When ordering food, please be sensitive to the range of dietary restrictions reflected in our student body including Kosher, Vegetarian/Vegan and various food allergies.  Please consult Restaurant Associates or the Dean of Students Office with questions.

Please note that all events held in Harkness Commons, The Pub, and Milstein Function Space must use Restaurant Associates for catering per the  Food Policy.

You must follow the HLS Alcohol Policy if you plan on to serving alcohol at your event.