Loud hip-hop music greeted SF State students crossing Malcolm X Plaza for the first time since the beginning of the semester.

After the lifting of the noise moratorium Monday, the Black Student Union (BSU) and the Associated Students Inc. (ASI) had a disc jockey blasting amplified music at the plaza as part of their Hurricane Katrina Memorial.

“It’s been a very long and hard process trying to be able to hold events in the plaza,” BSU coordinator Melanie Eke said. “I’m very excited to have music back in the quad and plaza…it’s central to student life.”

All outdoor events using amplified sound had been on hold since the end of the spring semester while a special committee reviewed the school’s event policy over the summer to determine how to minimize the disruption of classes.

“I’m really excited and happy to have events happening in the plaza again,” said Joey Greenwell, director of the office of student programs and leadership development (OSPLD). “It adds a lot to the university environment.”

He sent out e-mails informing the campus community of the change as soon as the Office of Student Affairs lifted the moratorium Monday morning.

Greenwell said Tuesday was the first day that student organizations could make reservations for historical events (events that have been held repeatedly for at least five years now) that use amplified sound at Malcolm X Plaza, with the exception of three historical, time-specific events that will be staged immediately, one being the Hurricane Katrina Memorial.

The College Republicans will be staging a Sept. 11 memorial event today, and La Raza hosted an event yesterday.

Friday will be the first day to register for all other outdoor events.

But organizations planning the events still need to adhere to certain rules - the OSPLD said that any amplified outdoor sound should not exceed 85 decibels – a change from the previous limit of 95 decibels - and that only the official student center sound system can be used for amplification.

Christine Gordon, executive assistant at the Office of Student Affairs, said that the lifting of the moratorium resulted from the work of the task force, which recommended changes to the 20-year-old Time, Place and Manner Policy (Executive Directive 89-13) that governs the use of campus buildings and grounds.

“Their work was instrumental in moving the restrictions,” she said.

Raul Amaya, vice president of internal affairs for the ASI, was a member of the task force, along with seven other students and eight members of the school administration.

“It was stressful working with both administration and students trying to get the plaza open for amplified sound,” Amaya said. “But it was good that the students’ voices were heard. I’m glad they lifted the moratorium.”

Greenwell added that while changes “have not been put into effect completely, work is still being done by the university” to review and improve the policy.

One of the things being done by the Office of Student Affairs as part of the review is to conduct professional sound testing to determine how sound much sound carries on campus grounds, Greenwell said.