The Graduate Lounge

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A Cheese-tasting Event hosted at the Graduate Lounge in Feb 2010.

The Graduate Lounge is a large, multi-purpose space reserved for the exclusive use of grad students. Scheduling decisions are taken by the GSC Vice Presidents of Social Events and Student Life.

The Lounge has couches, chairs, tables, a sink, and an enclosed cobblestone courtyard. Any graduate student may request to reserve the lounge for any purpose, and when the lounge is not reserved, any graduate student may simply swipe in with their ID and hang out in the lounge. To check whether the lounge is reserved, take a look at the lounge calendar.

Directions to the Lounge

The entrance to the grad lounge is on the west side of Thayer Street, on the block between Charlesfield and Power Streets.


View larger map

Starting from Waterman & Thayer, walk down on Thayer, pass Charlesfield and look to your right for a break in the low brick wall and a set of steps gradually descending. Go down the steps and under the spiral stairs ahead of you; below the stairs, there should be a wooden door to your left. Go inside.

Ahead and to the left are the doors to the grad lounge. Swipe your Brown ID card, go in, and close the door behind you — if the door stays open too long, campus police may drop by to find out why.

Grad Lounge Calendar

This calendar lists all events currently scheduled for the grad lounge. If you’d like to reserve the lounge, find a free spot on this calendar, read the usage policies, lounge reservation policies, and alcohol, fire safety, and cleanup regulations, and then fill out the Reservation Request Form. You are responsible for following all University policies in your use of the lounge.

You can also access the calendar in a bigger version.

Lounge Usage Policies

  1. Room use and access is a privilege. It may be revoked at any time for violating stated policies as well as general misconduct.
  2. There is no scheduled maintenance so everyone must clean up after themselves.
  3. Leaving a mess unattended to can result in access being revoked. (Since the swipe cards can be used to determine who entered, the GSC can determine who made the mess.)
  4. Doors are not to be propped open, ever. If the card access doors are discovered propped open, everyone in the room is responsible and may have their access privileges to the room revoked.
  5. No one should allow anyone in who does not have a swipe card, under any circumstances.
  6. Alcohol is allowed only with a lounge reservation. Anyone caught with undeclared alcohol in the room is subject to having his/her access suspended.
  7. Multimedia equipment is currently unavailable, due to damage caused by previous (ab)use. We are working to resolve this problem, but for the moment you will need to bring your own A/V gear if your event requires it.
  8. Please report any problems with equipment or the room to the the VPs Social immediately.
  9. No personal belongings are to be stored in the Lounge. No food or beverages are to be left in the refrigerator.

Lounge Reservation Policies

  1. The Graduate Student Lounge is to be used as a social space for graduate students and their guests, and should be kept accessible to as many graduate students as possible at all times.
  2. Lounge reservations will be granted on a first come, first serve basis. Please make your reservation request as early as possible.
  3. Graduate Student Council events take precedence over all other events.
  4. Only graduate student specific events will be allowed in the Lounge. The lounge is not available to undergraduate groups or for undergraduate-centered events, due to repeated and systematic problems in the past with cleanliness and equipment damage.
  5. A/V equipment is not currently available in the lounge! Please arrange to bring your own sound system and/or video display if you need these for your event!
  6. Events that cater to the most general and largest graduate student population will be given precedence.
  7. Generally events will NOT be scheduled immediately after graduate student socials. (This is to allow for clearing out and clean up of the room among other things.)
  8. Lounge reservations are for the entire Lounge given large enough group size or specific activity.
  9. Reservations should be made and replied to at least 3 business days in advance.
  10. There is NO scheduled maintenance, so all groups are responsible for cleaning up after themselves.
  11. In cases where Facilities Management is required, the group in question is responsible for all fees incurred during clean up.

Alcohol, Fire Safety, and Cleanup Regulations

All requests need to be received at least 3 business days before the event. Reservation is not required for events with fewer than 50 people where no type of food or drinks are served. However, if you want to guarantee that the room is available, then you should definitely reserve the space. For larger events and any events serving any food or drinks, you should also reserve the room and read the instructions below.

If your event is for fewer than 50 people, you are not required to place a cleaning order with Facilities Management. However, you are responsible for cleaning up after yourself, otherwise the GSC will place the cleaning order for you and charge you for it. The organizers of the event are also fully responsible for making sure that no alcohol is served to guests under 21 years of age.

If your event is for more than 50 people but without any food or drinks, make sure you download and follow the fire safety checklist and read the fire safety rules and regulations for any event that occurs inside a university building and is attended by fifty or more persons. Again, you are responsible for the clean up of the room when you are done (place the furnitures where you found them, etc).

If your event is for more than 50 people and you will serve food and drinks, you must place and pay for a cleaning order with Facilities Management for the request to be considered. This has to be done at least ten business days in advance to comply with the workers union rights. We strongly suggest that you place this order 1 month in advance to give time to FM to reply and then be able to contact us in a timely fashion. In order to pay FM, you must have an account with Brown (which means that you have to be an officially recognized student group). When you get a written confirmation from FM, forward it to the GSC and your request will be processed. Make sure you download and follow the fire safety checklist and read the fire safety rules and regulations for any event that occurs inside a university building and is attended by fifty or more persons.

If your event is for more than 100 people (summer only), then you must register with the Student Activities Office, in addition to complying with the guidelines set for events with more than 50 people.

Regardless of what event you host, the lounge fire safety capacity is for 78 people MAXIMUM. In the summer ONLY, the patio provides capacity for another 78 people

More information can be found at the Event Planning website.

Lounge Reservations

The lounge may be reserved by any graduate student on a first-come, first-served basis. To reserve the lounge, do the following:

  1. Read the lounge usage policies, alcohol, fire safety, and cleanup regulations, and lounge reservation policies, and make sure you understand them.
  2. Check the lounge calendar and find a free time slot.
  3. Fill out and submit the Graduate Student Lounge Reservation Form.

Either one of the Social Events Co-Chairs or the Tech officer will contact you to confirm your reservation. Please be aware that, though it is rare, it’s possible that an overlapping reservation request might be pending when you submit your request.

As detailed in the reservation policies, all requests need to be received at least 3 business days before the event. Reservation is not required for small events but if you want to guarantee that the room is available to you, then you should definitely reserve the space. For a definition of “small” events, read the fire safety regulations.