CLUB MANUAL - RESOURCES & STRATEGIES FOR COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION
Publicizing Your Programs
It is important to publicize your programs. It would be unfortunate to spend time and effort to plan an event and then have only a minimal audience. Some publicity suggestions are: fliers, newspaper ads, word of mouth, TargetVision, University calendar, web sites, giveaways, etc.
Campus Advertising Options
TargetVision
To advertise on the televisions that are located in the Student Activities Center, and also play on a channel in the residence halls, your group can create a landscape PowerPoint slide and email it to SAC_TargetVision@notes.cc.sunysb.edu
Student Media Groups
Stony Brook has 3 full service print newspapers, 1 foreign language print paper, 2 on-line student news services, a 24 hour a day broadcast FM and webcast radio station, 1 on-campus broadcast TV station , 2 student journals as well as a yearbook. We also work with recognized clubs and organizations that have their own publications and productions. Contact the Assistant Director of Student Media, located in Union 266 and can be reached by phone at 631-632-6828.
Here are some useful links for the various student media groups and resources offered on campus:
WUSB 90.1 FM Radio
SBU-TV
Stony Brook Statesman
Stony Brook Press
Blackworld
Stony Brook Independent
AA E-Zine
Specula
SPJ
Student Media Council
University Website Calendar
Contact your program advisor to post your event on the website calendar.
Student Life ListServ
Emails about your event can be sent out to all students that have signed up to be on the list serve because they want to learn more about what is happening on campus. Contact the Student Activities Office at 631-632-9392 for more information.
Stony Briefs
This monthly publication is distributed to all the clubs and organizations through the office of Student Activities. You are welcome to submit a small article or event that you would want advertised to SAC 218.
Large Traditional Calendars
Proposal for events will be placed in club mailbox for your group to hold an event during Opening Activities, ChillFest, etc. If accepted, your group’s event will be included in all publications.
Other large traditional calendars include but are not limited to:
- Diversity Calendar- Contact Gina Vanacore at 632-6750
- Hispanic Heritage Month (October) - Contact Christina Vargas-Law at 632-6820
- Black History Month (February) - Contact Cheryl Chambers at 632-7320
Blackboard
Student Activities has a blackboard site with many users. Ask your program advisor about contacting the master of the site to post your event.
Flyers/teasers
Flyers and teasers (quarter sheet flyers) are a wonderful way to get the word out. Unfortunately, we cannot make copies of flyers for every club/organization event but there is a Kinko’s on campus, located in the basement of the Melville Library for all your copying needs. They can be reached at 632-1831
Giveaways
Some groups prefer to get giveaways for recruitment and/or event promotion. One idea is getting pens with the club/organization contact information. Another could be as simple as putting a label on a piece of candy with information about an upcoming event. Be creative!
Literature Tables
Lit tables are a great way to get people’s attention. Clubs/organizations can fill the table with information, giveaways, upcoming events, etc. They can also have a sign-up sheet for students to sign up for an email list. Groups can use the online student group reservation request form to request a Lit table in the SAC or Union Lobby.
General Flyer Approval/Posting Policy
- Bulletin boards are intended for Stony Brook University Community use only.
- All posters, flyers, and table tents must be stamped “Approved for Posting". The flyers and table tents can be approved in the Stony Brook Union room 266 or Student Activities Center room 219.
- Only recognized organizations can post flyers on bulletin boards.
- Flyers are not to be attached in any way to wall surfaces, glass surfaces, doors, floors, traffic signs, light poles, sidewalks, or trees.
- Table tents are permitted in dining room areas. Table tents will be limited to one per table, and require approval.
- Credit card advertisements will not be approved.
- No advertisements for solicitation of alcohol will be approved.
- Flyer size is not to exceed 11" x 17".
- Date, time, and location must be confirmed prior to approval.
- Only one poster per bulletin board is allowed.
- Information printed in any language other than English must include English translation.
- Campus organizations are responsible for removal and disposal of material at the conclusion of their event.
Posting on Campus:
General Guidelines
Registered Student Clubs, Organizations, Fraternities, and Sororities may post flyers in the University buildings, but only on designated bulletin boards! To post in residence halls, permission MUST be granted by the Quad Offices.
Registered Student Groups may NOT post flyers on:
- classroom doors
- classroom windows
- on walls or alongside University buildings
- on the ground in front of building entrance ways or in campus walkways
Posters should NOT be posted if they promote or display alcohol (beer, wine, mixed drinks and/or alcohol related paraphernalia).
Posters must be in good taste and can NOT discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, color, national origin, age, disability, or marital status.
Chalking, or writing on any University surface with chalk other than a chalk board is NOT PERMITTED and can be considered vandalism.
Posters that violate any guidelines will be removed at the organizations’ expense. Please educate your club members about these guidelines. If you would like more information, please visit the Department of Student Union & Activities, located in SAC 218, Call us at 631.632.9392, or email us at studentactivities@notes.cc.sunysb.edu
Student Activities Center
The purpose of the Student Activities Center Posting Policy is to help campus departments, offices, and recognized organizations promote their events and programs in a fair and orderly manner.
Campus departments, offices, and recognized student groups may post up to 6 notices about a single event at one time. All posters must be approved and stamped in Suite 218 during regular business hours.
Items may be posted for up to two weeks, or until the day after the listed event, whichever comes first.
Notices posted over valid posters or in non-designated areas will be removed.
Posters may be no larger than 11” X 17”.
All posters must contain the name of the sponsoring organization.
Only the following 6 bulletin boards have been designated for stamped posters:
1st Floor by entrance to cafeteria
2nd Floor in the middle and one on each end of the hallway
3rd Floor on each end of the hallway
Notices may NOT be posted on: windows, doors, wood, brick, or painted surfaces. Any posters posted without a stamp or in an undesignated area will be discarded. Posting Policy infractions can result in loss of posting privileges for the individual, the organization, or both.
Stony Brook Union
The purpose of the Stony Brook Posting Policy is to help campus departments, offices, and recognized organizations promote their events and programs in a fair and orderly manner.
Campus departments, offices, and recognized student groups may post up to 6 notices about a single event at one time. All posters must be approved and stamped in Room 266 during regular business hours.
Items may be posted until the day after the event.
Notices posted over valid posters or in non-designated areas will be removed.
Posters may be no larger than 11” X 17”.
All posters must contain the name of the sponsoring organization.
Only the following bulletin boards have been designated for stamped posters:
- Top of the stairs near the Lounge
- The landing of the stairs between the Fireside Lounge the upstairs Lounge.
- At the bottom of the stairs in the Fireside Lounge Across from Delancey Street Deli.
- The bulletin board in the alcove in the North entrance doors in the lobby.
- The bulletin board in the alcove in the South entrance doors in the lobby.
- The bulletin board across from the entrance to the auditorium.
Notices may NOT be posted on: windows, doors, wood, brick, or painted surfaces. Any posters posted without a stamp or in an undesignated area will be discarded. Posting Policy infractions can result in loss of posting privileges for the individual, the organization, or both.
Division of Campus Residences
Flyers for sanctioned events and masking tape, provided by the organization, will be left in the Quad Office. Stop at the Quad Office to receive information about the designated posting locations and to clarify any questions about this policy.
If you are unsure of the location of the Quad Offices, call for directions:
- Kelly Quad: 2-6790
- Roosevelt Quad: 2-6800
- Mendelsohn Quad: 2-6760
- H Quad: 2-6775
- Roth Quad: 2-2040
- Tabler Quad: 2-6780
- West Apartments: 2-4728
When posters are delivered to the Quad Offices 48 hours before the advertising campaign begins, staff will post the flyers. Please Note: 48 hours before the Advertising Campaign Begins, NOT 48 hours before the event.
If Residential Programs Staff in the Quad Office are unable to post flyers, they will authorize student organizations and/or designee to enter the halls and to post flyers in designated posting locations.
Forty (40) posters per Quad will provide each hall with notification of the event or activity being advertised.
Posters will be removed when they are displayed in non-designated posting locations. It is NEVER acceptable to post signs on glass, windows, or doors.
Masking tape is the only material that can be used to display posters. When materials used to display posters (scotch tape, duct tape, staples, or glue) damage facilities, the student organization responsible will be billed for repairs.
Posters will not be posted if they promote or display alcohol (beer, wine, mixed drinks, and alcohol related paraphernalia) or violate the University Student Conduct Code.
Posters must not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, color, national origin, age, disability, marital status, or status as a disabled or Vietnam-era veteran. Posters that discriminate will not be displayed.
How to Write a Press Release
A good press release should have all the essential information contained in the first two or three clear, easy-to-read sentences. The ensuing paragraphs elaborate and develop the details in descending order of importance – the “inverted pyramid” style, which allows editors to shorten stories without losing the essentials. Be accurate, objective, and brief. One page, double-spaced, is all anyone needs to tell most stories. At the bottom of each page, except the last one, type “-more-”. At the end of the release, type “-30- ” or “###”. This is the journalists’ way to say “The End”.
Be Sure to:
- Type in double space with wide margins.
- End each page on a complete paragraph.
- Keep your entire release less than two pages long.
- Put your name, address, phone number, and email address in the upper left-hand corner. List a day and night number if they differ.
- If there is no reason to delay publication of a story, put “For Immediate Release” about the story and to the right. Include your own headline is you like, to get the editor’s attention.