Outdoor events are on hold at SF State until a special committee of students, university staff and faculty completes a re-examination of the school’s event policy, according to the Office of Student Affairs.

Numerous complaints of disrupted classes due to noise spurred the moratorium on scheduling outdoor events for the fall semester and, at the request of Vice President of Student Affairs J. E. (Penny) Saffold, the creation of the Time, Place and Manner Policy Task Force, said assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Eugene Chelberg. Outdoor booth activity from different organizations is unaffected.

The committee, composed of eight students and eight university employees representing many aspects of the campus, met frequently throughout the summer to discuss changing the 20-year old policy that would better balance the usage of outdoor venues with instructors’ complaints, said Chelberg. The group’s work also included defining the significance of Malcolm X Plaza and other university spaces to the campus population’s free speech.

Despite a goal to submit its recommendations to the president’s office by Aug. 15, the group “still has work to do” said student member Brian Gallagher, 25.

For now, the quad remains quiet.

“We need to be able to teach. That’s what we’re in business for,” said Chelberg, who also strongly insisted it was his intent to lift the moratorium.

“We’re ready...we’ve put everything in place so we can act quickly,” said Joey Greenwell, director of the Office of Student Programs and Leadership Development. Greenwell’s office helps to schedule events on campus.

The new policy would affect amplified sound from Malcolm X Plaza and other areas, yet would not limit demonstrations like those surrounding the state budget crisis last semester, Chelberg said. Methods to limit the dispersion of noise throughout the campus are currently being considered.