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Speaker Events Hosted by Student Groups

The University respects the rights of speakers invited to campus to be heard and to complete their presentations, regardless of the content of their speech.  The University also respects the right of individuals to protest and express their views.  The guidelines below follow University protocol for speaker events involving officially recognized student groups.

  • If an attendee behaves disruptively or interferes with an invited speaker’s ability to be heard or be viewed by other members of the audience, the attendee causing the disruption will receive a warning.  If, after receiving the warning, the same attendee causes a disruption or interference, Public Safety may remove the attendee from the event and, depending on the circumstances, may arrest the attendee.  If the attendee removed from the event is a University student, the student will also be referred to the Office of the Dean of Students for possible disciplinary action under the University’s Honor Code in addition to any criminal charges.
  • Attendees who bring handheld banners or signs may stand and display them along the left and right walls of the room or auditorium.  Individuals holding posters or banners must not interfere with ingress or egress.
  • No signs will be allowed in the room or auditorium that are made out of wood or metal, or that are affixed to wooden or metal sticks, or that otherwise pose a safety hazard.
  • Additional safety measures may be implemented at the direction of the Department of Public Safety.  Revenue-generating speaker events must reimburse Public Safety for additional safety measures.  The student group sponsoring a non-revenue generating speaker event will not be required to pay for costs associated with additional safety measures implemented by the University, provided that any event (whether a speaker event or otherwise) that extends past midnight (12 am) will be subject to The Carolina Union's late closing fees.  These additional safety measures may include, but are not limited to, the following:
    • Restrictions on bringing into the venue bags, food, drinks, and other items deemed by Public Safety to constitute a public safety hazard.
    • Admission ticket requirements
    • Wristband requirements
    • Re-entry limitations
    • Limited choice of venue
    • Unless prior, written approval is given due to special circumstances, all speaker events must begin no later than 7 pm
  • For speaker events that include a question and answer period, to allow sufficient time for others to ask questions, attendees may take no longer than one minute to ask their question, if questions directly from the audience are permitted.

Meeting reservation guidelines for the Carolina Union must also be observed. 

This policy follows the UNC-CH Facilities Use Policy

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