Purpose: To provide guidance for students and/or student organizations who wish to hold giveaways, raffles, auctions or pools sponsored by or associated with the UAB Heersink School of Medicine.
Office or Individual Responsible for Implementing: Office of Student Success
Applies to: All medical students, including those on LOA. This also applies to student organizations, student advisory groups, and student government. Note: These guidelines will be understood to apply to any student group or initiative that represents the school either implicitly or explicitly.
Details
Raffles
Student groups and organizations are not allowed to hold raffles. Raffles are lottery-type systems at which tickets are sold and then one or multiple tickets are drawn at random, and the person who bought the drawn ticket wins a prize.
- This definition will be applied to those initiatives and/or events not labeled as a raffle but which would be reasonably understood to have the characteristics and function of a raffle.
- Student groups and organizations may not label an event by another name (drawing, chances, etc.) and then functionally carry out a raffle.
Pools
Student groups and organizations are not allowed to hold pools in which students “buy in” and then collect money at the end of the event. An example of this is a March Madness pool in which students pay $xx amount to have a bracket, and the winning student wins a sum of money.
- This definition will be applied to those initiatives and/or events not labeled as a pool but which would be reasonably understood to have the characteristics and function of a pool.
Drawings and offering door prizes
Student groups and organizations are allowed to hold drawings and offer door prizes as long as no individual has to pay money to be entered into the drawing or eligible for the door prize.
- This definition will be applied to those initiatives and/or events not labeled as a drawing or a door prize but which would be reasonably understood to have the characteristics and function of a drawing or door prize.
- Student groups and organizations may not use on-campus money to buy the prizes/items given away via a drawing or door prize, nor can on-campus money be used for the supplies or materials needed to run the drawing or door prize.
Auctions & Silent auctions
Student groups and organizations are allowed to hold auctions or silent auctions. Auctions are events at which individuals bid on an item and the person with the highest bid receives the item.
- This definition will be applied to those initiatives and/or events not labeled as an auction/silent auction but which would be reasonably understood to have the characteristics and function of an auction/silent auction.
- Student groups and organizations may not use on-campus money to buy the prizes/items sold at an auction/silent auction, nor can on-campus money be used for the supplies or materials needed to run the auction/silent auction.
Additional information
Students and/or student groups who are found to be conducting a giveaway, raffle, auctions, or pool that does not comply with these guidelines will be directed to stop the activity immediately and return money or items collected to that point.
The State of Alabama considers raffles to be lotteries, which are illegal under state law. See Article 2, Sections 13A-12-20, 13A-12-21, and 13A-12-22 of the State of Alabama Criminal Code.
History
Created: August 2018
Implemented: August 2018
Updated: December 2021
To be reviewed: December 2023