Due to stringent noise control ordinances in St. Louis County and in the municipalities surrounding the campus, student groups and other campus departments sponsoring outdoor events, parties, rallies, etc., on Washington University in St. Louis property involving the use of electrically amplified sound equipment must observe the following procedures:
All such events, including fraternity-sponsored activities on leased premises, must be registered with the scheduling office no later than 5 p.m. the Tuesday prior to the event.
Each sponsoring organization must, upon registration, designate a member of the group whose name and telephone number will be provided along with the registration information and who will be responsible for monitoring the sound level of the activity.
From Labor Day through Memorial Day, no event using outside sound amplification may continue past 11 p.m. (Sunday-Thursday), 1 a.m. (Friday-Saturday). Events on other days of the year may not continue past 1 a.m. if outside amplification is used. Failure to comply with this regulation will result in university disciplinary action against the sponsoring organization and denial of further use of university space.
In the event of complaints regarding excessive sound levels prior to the closing hour, the university police department will contact the designated staff person on duty to advise him or her of the complaints and their origin. The staff person will contact the responsible person from the sponsoring group to inform them of the situation, and they shall immediately take steps to reduce the noise level of the event. It shall be the responsibility of the sponsoring organization to ensure that bands, or other entertainment under contract with the organization, comply with university policy regarding reducing excessive volume. Such steps could include, but are not limited to: relocating the speaker, relocating the equipment and canceling the event.
University police will make every effort, in cooperation with the sponsoring organization, to correct the excessive volume problem without canceling the event. Failure of the responsible person, or the sponsoring organization, to cooperate in permanently reducing the sound level of the event will result in immediate cancellation of the event and university disciplinary action, including denial of further use of university space.
Additional Procedures on the South 40
All bands, DJ’s, stereos or other sound amplification devices must be inside and away from open doors or windows.
All musicians, DJ’s, residents and others who can vary the sound must understand before they begin that the volume must be low enough so as not to be disturbing to Clayton residents. “Low enough” is determined by Residential Life staff members and/or university police.