BSU and MNSCU POLICIES

Alcoholic Beverages
Hazing

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
University policy prohibits the use or possession of any alcoholic beverages on the campus of Bemidji State University.  This prohibition extends to Residence Halls and to athletic facilities and athletics events and applies to any person on University grounds, whether he/she is a member of the University community or not.  The only exceptions to this absolute prohibition are authorized laboratory experiments and sale and consumption in accordance with the special temporary licensing procedure provided by law.  Any such sale, possession, or consumption is strictly controlled and allowed only in those areas of the campus specifically designated in the temporary license.  Events held in off-campus locations cannot have alcohol served.

HAZING
All organizations must adhere to the university's policy against Hazing.  According to the student code of conduct manual (Code R, page 3), Hazing is an act which endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a person, subjects a person to public humiliation or ridicule, or which destroys or removes public or private property for the purpose of initiation, admission into, affiliation with or as a condition of continued membership in a student group or organization.  Hazing, whether occurring on or off campus shall be considered a violation of this code.  Organizations found responsible of the charge of hazing, could lose status as a recognized student organization.

POLICIES INVOLVING COPYRIGHT LAWS

PUBLIC PERFORMANCE OF VIDEOS:  The Associate Director's Office has received many inquiries regarding the use of video tapes as part of organization activities; thus it is important to share the following legal information with BSU organization officials.

The law and you:  Five facts every video tape user must know!

• FOR HOME USE ONLY means just that!  Without a license, it is illegal for you to exhibit video tapes publicly, outside of your home and beyond the scope of your family and your close friends.

• Video tapes RENTED from retail stores confer no other license.  Retailers cannot offer you legal protection if you exhibit their tapes in a public performance setting.

• Video tapes PURCHASED from retail stores confer no other license.  Owning a tape doesn't provide you with public performance protection.

• Showing rented or purchased video tape in a public setting can be a copyright violation EVEN IF YOU DON'T CHARGE ADMISSION. If you are suspected of copyright infringement, there is now a very good chance that you will be prosecuted

COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS REGARDING PUBLIC PERFORMANCE
(Information taken from SWANK film catalog/web page www.swank.com)

What establishes a "public performance"?
Suppose you invite a few personal friends to your home for dinner and a movie.  You purchase or rent a videocassette movie from your local video store and you view the film in your home that evening.  Have you violated the copyright law by illegally "publicly performing" the movie?  Probably not.  But suppose that you took that same videocassette and showed it to 100 people at the student union.  In this case, you have infringed on the rights of the movie's copyright holder.
The owner of the copyright of a motion picture, etc. has the exclusive right to perform the copyrighted work publicly.  This is a federal law that applies in every state.  Examples of an unlawful "public performance" would be playing a videocassette of the movie GONE WITH THE WIND in a video lounge, student union or a residence hall common room accessible by the residence population without a proper license.

If I don't charge admission, do I still need a license?  
Yes.  The copyright laws apply whether or not an admission is charged.

What if my video store says that it is okay? 
Local video stores are in the business of renting videocassettes for home use only and cannot provide you legal protection.  Ownership of the tape, etc. and the right to show it publicly are two separate issues.  The copyright holder retains exclusive public performance rights to that program.

What about tapes that I own?
The purchase of a videocassette from a source such as a local video store or retail outlet does not convey or carry with it the right to exhibit that cassette, etc. in public or semi-public locations.

Isn't a residence hall my home?  
Individual rooms where students sleep or study are completely different from common rooms such as lounges and other public or semi-public areas within a residence hall.  Any situation in which a closed circuit distribution is used requires licensing; and certainly, any exhibitions in common areas-even though they are restricted-require licensing.