White Plaza and Other Designated Outdoor Event Spaces

This page describes the policies for using White Plaza and four other spaces and areas of campus that are designated for events: East Oval Grove, Meyer Green, Manzanita Field, and the Panama Street Clearing.

On this page:

White Plaza Other Designated Outdoor Event Spaces

White Plaza

White Plaza has long served as a space for student activities and freedom of expression by a wide range of campus community members. There are still some rules that apply in White Plaza to ensure that the space is available on a fair basis to everyone who might want to hold an event there, to keep noise levels in a range that is not disruptive to adjacent parts of campus, and to ensure adequate staffing and safety. Those seeking to use White Plaza should consult the policies. Generally, planned events in White Plaza do require advance reservations, and events with reservations have priority. 

In recognition of the fact that students, faculty, and staff may sometimes wish to gather spontaneously to express their views (for example, in response to news events), White Plaza is also the designated space on campus for such spontaneous gatherings, including protests or rallies. This includes gatherings that may exceed 100 people and would otherwise, for that reason alone, require advance registration and permission under the Major Events Protocol. (Events that would trigger the Major Events Protocol for reasons other than size – for example, involving a high profile dignitary – must still follow the advance permission procedures required by that Protocol, whether held in White Plaza or elsewhere on campus.) 

Such spontaneous gatherings must still follow all the other rules for use of the space listed on the White Plaza information page including but not limited to:

• Limitations on noise levels
• Restrictions on structures and equipment (including tables, canopies, and sandwich boards)
• Prohibition of camping
• May not block fire lanes or impede pedestrian and bicycle traffic
• Must be between the hours of 8 a.m. and 10 p.m.

In addition, otherwise permissible spontaneous events that interfere with planned or reserved use of White Plaza may still run afoul of the Campus Disruption Policy. 

• For example, if the Farmer’s Market has reserved part of White Plaza between 10 and 2 on a Tuesday, a spontaneous protest may not take over the space they have reserved or prevent market goers from freely accessing the stalls. White Plaza is large enough that spontaneous uses will often be able to take place in another part of the Plaza. 
• In such circumstances, users must follow the directions of campus authorities to relocate their spontaneous gathering to another part of White Plaza or, if all parts of the Plaza are being utilized, to another suitable place on campus where it might be held without disrupting other activities at that time. All users (with reservations or not) must also follow the directions of campus authorities regarding relocating to other parts of the Plaza or other spaces on campus if necessary for safety reasons (for example, to avoid conflict between protestors and counter protestors).

Even for spontaneous gatherings in White Plaza, student organizers are strongly encouraged to work with Student Affairs Meeting Services with as much advance notice as possible to ensure compliance with campus rules and provide for adequate public safety resources on hand. Faculty and staff organizers should also work with student affairs for events in White Plaza, as responsibility for managing the Plaza resides within that office. Stanford University land is private property, and non-Stanford affiliates (e.g., the general public) may not organize events in White Plaza.

Other Designated Outdoor Event Spaces

In light of interest expressed in having more spaces beyond White Plaza available for Stanford community members to gather (including to express their views through protests or rallies) in ways that are unlikely to disrupt other campus activities, the university has now designated several additional Outdoor Event Spaces for Stanford community members (students, faculty, and staff) to use across campus, in proximity to most of the schools as well as to the center of campus. In addition to White Plaza, other outdoor spaces designated for events are:

• East Oval Grove
• Meyer Green
• Manzanita Field
• Panama Street Clearing

Visitors and non-Stanford affiliates (e.g., members of the general public) are not permitted to organize events in these spaces.

Unlike White Plaza, which is available for spontaneous gatherings, including protests and rallies, by Stanford affiliates without advance approval, these spaces do require advance registration to ensure that adequate public safety and other staff are available. 

• You may reserve them for use by contacting the Office of Student Engagement. 
• At least [5] working days are typically required to plan for events in these spaces, including events that would otherwise trigger the Major Events Protocol solely because of expected attendance over 100 people. (If the event includes other criteria that would trigger the Major Events Protocol, such as serving alcohol or involving a high-profile speaker, all aspects of that policy must be followed.) If there is a time-sensitive reason for the event and more advance planning would not have been possible (for example, there is a “breaking news” event to which people wish to respond and White Plaza is unavailable due to conflicting use), every effort will be made to accommodate reservations on shorter notice. 
• Access to these spaces will not be denied based on the viewpoint of speakers/participants or the content of their speech. 
• Organizers may be asked to postpone events to another reasonable date or consider alternative locations based on availability of events staff and safety or operational concerns. 
• Events in these spaces are also subject to other campus-wide rules including:
• Limitations on noise levels
• Restrictions on structures and equipment (including tables, canopies, and sandwich boards)
• Prohibition of camping
• May not block fire lanes or impede pedestrian and bicycle traffic
• Must be between the hours of 8 a.m. and 10 p.m.