Policy and Procedure 6A.2: Space Management: Signs
Permanent Signs
To maintain an appearance congruent with college branding standards and with other college signage, permanent signage must be approved by the Director of Marketing & Public Relations.
Temporary Signs, Flyers, and Notices
To maintain an orderly appearance and to reduce damage to facility surfaces, the staff and students of Anoka-Ramsey Community College and non-college groups or individuals shall follow established guidelines for posting temporary signs, notices, or flyers.
Signs/notices/flyers must:
- be posted only in the designated posting areas on each campus. Information on the locations of general posting areas can be picked up at the Student Activities desk or found at N: ARCC PUBLIC/Maps/Sign Posting Maps or at this link
- Use logo standards as reported in the ARCC_Logo_Standards.pdf document when creating postings (found at N:ARCC PUBLIC/Logos)
- clearly identify the author or sponsor of the materials
- contain a visible expiration date, after which the sign, notice, or poster may be removed. Typically this expiration date is not to exceed fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of posting.
- For purposes of this policy/procedure, a visible expiration date shall be either a stamped expiration date by the Office of Student Activities or official of the college or department responsible for the area where the sign, notice, or poster is posted.
Approval of Temporary Signs
Official College Documents:
Official college documents do not require approval for posting on bulletin boards. Official documents include items such as minutes of regular college committee meetings, notices of approved college events, including those sponsored by student, faculty, or staff organizations, departments, or divisions; or notices to students about course offerings, registration, financial aid, and placement. Postings sponsored through student clubs must follow the guidelines as presented in the Clubs and Organizations Guide, available at https://arccwebstorage.blob.core.windows.net/media/3636/clubs-orgs-guide.pdf. Postings that are co-sponsored must have consulted with all sponsoring departments.
Unofficial College Documents:
Pre-approval is necessary to post temporary signs, notices, and flyers for advertising or promotional purposes by unofficial or non-college groups/individuals. The Student Activities Coordinator approves all unofficial temporary postings, including those requested by non-college groups or individuals.
Protected Speech:
By way of example and not limitation, college employees or those acting on their behalf may not:
1. inhibit freedom or expression solely because it is controversial, takes extreme, "fringe" or minority opinions, or is distasteful, unpopular or unpleasant;
2. refuse to print/post or otherwise hinder the distribution of material based on the content; unless that content falls under "unprotected expression" as outlined in the following section. Any content that is initially deemed inappropriate (see above) or for which a written complaint is lodged to the Student Activities office shall be reviewed in a timely fashion by a response team consisting of
- the MSCF President(s) or designee
- a representative of the AFSCME and MAPE bargaining units on campus
- a student representative
who shall review the matter and make a recommendation to the College President or designee, who shall make the final decision for the College.
If the complaint is upheld, the Student Activities Coordinator shall be notified and the flyer shall be removed immediately. The originator of the flyer shall be informed of the reasoning in a timely manner by a representative of the response team. Repeat violations by an individual or group could be met with a ban on posting materials for a full academic semester or longer, or other appropriate discipline.
If the complaint is not upheld, the Student Activities Coordinator shall be notified and no further action shall be taken.
A copy of the complaint, decision, and rationale shall be logged and kept by the President's Office.
Unprotected Expression
The following types of expression are not protected by this policy:
1. Material that is obscene, as defined by state law and this policy. "Obscenity" is defined as material that meets all three of the following requirements: (a) the average person, applyuing contemporary community standards, would find that the publication, taken as a whole, appeals to a prurient interest in sex; (b) the publication depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, a sexual conduct such as ultimate sexual acts (normal or perverted), masturbation, and lewd exhibition of the genitals; and (c) the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. Indecent or vulgar language is not obscene.
2. Libelous material as defined by state law.
3. Material that unlawfully invades a person's right to privacy, as defined by state law.
4. Material that will cause "a material and substantial disruption" of college activities. "Disruption" includes student rioting, unlawful seizures of property, destruction of property, or substantial student participation in a college boycott, sit-in, walk-out, or other related form of seriously disruptive physical activity.
5. Discriminatory or harassing conduct that violates Board Policy 1B.1 Equal Opportunity and Nondiscrimination in Employment and Education
6. Any other types of expression that are not protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
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History (Policy):
03.2005 Added "Permanent Signs" paragraph, differentiated between "permanent" and "temporary" signs, and moved "Authorization sections from Procedure 6A.2/11 to this policy.
History (Procedure):
03.2005 Individual campus sections titled “Authorization to Post Signs, Notices, and Flyers” were moved to the policy.
05.2005 Minor revisions
04.2017 Discontinued; merged with policy (see below)
History (Combined Policy and Procedure):
04.2017 Combined and adopted with several additions and changes from original policy and procedure
