FiCom Open and Closed FAQ

In Fall 2009, FiCom created a new policy, by which student groups could self-designate as open or closed. What follows is more information concerning this policy. If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to email [mailto:ficom%40hampshire.edu FiCom].

What does "open"/"closed" mean?
Open is defined as having all meetings and activities open to the general Hampshire community. This must be done by ensuring that your Hampedia page is up to date, meetings, events, and activities are well-advertised, and meetings occur in public spaces.

Closed is defined as having any meetings or other activities that are not open to the general Hampshire community.

An example of a closed student group is HCEMS. HCEMS meets once a week, however these meetings are not open to the general public because of HIPAA and patient confidentiality laws. While meeting attendance is restricted, any student or faculty member with a current EMT certification is allowed to apply to the program, although unlike an open group HCEMS reserves the right to select which applicants can become members. HCEMS could not exist as an open group, both for legal and practical reasons.

Why was this policy created?
According to the SAF Guidelines, "All groups’ meetings, events, and group related activities must be open and accessible to the entire Hampshire community.” In the past, this created problems for groups that had closed meetings or other closed activities. Every semester, FiCom had to create an exception to the guidelines for closed groups. Groups/individuals came to us and raised concerns about our funding procedures for identity-based groups, so we wanted to ensure that they were officially recognized as legitimate groups that should be funded in the same way as all other groups.

What are some ways a group can engage with the greater Hampshire community?
Groups can hold well-advertised meeting or events, give performances, create and publicize informational documents, and so on. We encourage you to think creatively about how your group can best engage with the community!

If your group’s description about how they intend to engage with the community is not very specific, you may be asked to give a more detailed plan, or come in and discuss your plan with FiCom.