Media Guidelines
Visits to the campus by media professionals
The Office of Communications should be advised of all visits by media representatives to ensure they are professionally greeted and to facilitate any necessary clearance and approval processes associated with the visit.
Access to residence halls/classrooms
Public areas of residence halls, such as reception areas and TV lounges, are open to media during the hours that the residence halls are open to the public. As a courtesy, please let the residence hall manager know that you intend to visit.
Living areas of residence halls, such as individual rooms and residence area hallways, are not open to the media or the public.
An individual student may choose to grant a reporter or photographer access to his or her residence hall room. In those instances, the media representative may accompany the student into the individual student's living area.
Classrooms generally are not open to the public or to the media while class is in session. Individual professors may grant media access to class sessions. Please arrange that with the professor and the Office of Communications ahead of time.
Commencement
SU holds university-wide commencement activities three times each year — May, August and December. Ceremonies include a major speaker and the awarding of baccalaureate degrees are conferred. All are open to media.
Reporters and photographers must show identification from their news organization to gain access to media platforms at commencement.
Major speakers for commencement typically are announced by the university several weeks before the ceremony. Requests for interviews should be coordinated through the Office of Communications.
Occasionally, special credentials may be required to cover commencement activities. Media will be informed ahead of time if that is the case.
Credentials
In general, credentials are not required to cover day-to-day activities on campus. Occasionally, SU requires media to be credentialed for events of high interest or limited capacity. In those cases, media representatives will be informed in advance.
Filming on campus
Entry to campus buildings may be limited; see above for guidelines on access to residence halls and classrooms.
In the event of a critical incident or emergency requiring police or fire response, access to areas usually open to media may be limited to allow emergency personnel to ensure safety and security. In those instances, media should follow guidelines at the site of the incident.
For all other filming that is not news media related, contact janene_tate@sus.edu. Please be advised that these projects need a minimum of four weeks to go through approvals and other processes.
Freedom of Information Act/Public Records Requests
Submit a request to supublicrecords@sus.edu.
Parking on campus
Local media who cover SU as a regular beat and who frequently are on campus in that capacity may obtain a parking pass through the Office of Communications that allows them access to faculty/staff parking areas. Those requests are subject to the approval of the director of Communications.
Media who occasionally come to campus for stories may request a one-day parking pass a day or two before they intend to arrive; it can be mailed out or picked up in the Office of Communications located at J.S. Clark Administration building, 1st floor, Room 118.
Designated faculty/staff areas typically are open to the public daily after 5 p.m. and most of the weekend.
Those who come to campus to cover athletics events should request parking accommodations through the Office of Sports Information at 225-771-2601.
Some parking spots are designated for use only by university-owned vehicles or reserved for specific persons during business hours. Please watch for signs that limit parking and take them under consideration.
Political advertising/political campaigns
These guidelines relate solely to campaign advertising policies and procedures:
Video and/or photographic use of SU facilities and employees for the production of partisan political products must not imply or infer any institutional endorsement through the use of identifiable logs or logotypes, marks, symbols or music.
No partisan political advertisement should include endorsements/participation by titled university administrators who could be perceived as "endorsing" beyond their role as an individual citizen.
No university employees should participate in on-campus political advertising production during work hours.
No university employees should be involved — willingly or unwillingly — in work site campaign advertising production.
While general outdoor campus location photographic or video shooting is allowed, interior shooting is limited to areas outside of office or laboratory work areas and outside of classrooms. All interior shooting must be cleared in advance with relevant departments and must not interfere in any way with university activities.
Campaign production crews working at official university activities must abide by the same guidelines and standards of all media covering those activities, including meeting credentialing requirements when necessary.
How to contact the President-Chancellor or Board of Supervisors
Submit a request to interview the President-Chancellor or Board members to janene_tate@sus.edu.
Special events information
The Office of Communications releases information to media regarding university-wide special events at the point at which speakers or participants have been confirmed.
Student organizations that host special activities typically handle their own publicity for those events.
Student status information (confirmation of status, alum, etc.)
The Office of Communications can confirm the following facts about current or former SU students:
- Whether or not the person currently is enrolled.
- Whether or not he or she earned a degree, and if so, in what area of study.
- The year a degree was conferred.
- It is helpful, although not essential, to have a birth date or other method to help identify the person, since there may be more than one listing of the same name in the system. In some cases, there may be names of similar spelling. To avoid an incorrect report, please be sure you have the person's name spelled right.