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About Reserving Cory and Soda Hall Rooms

EECS department rooms in Soda and Cory Halls are only available for EECS and other COE community events and cannot be reserved by members of the broader campus community.

Book a room

Important Reminders for Fall 2023

(Last updated: 16-Aug-2023)

Please review the following Cory and Soda Hall room reservation policies before attempting to book a room this semester::

  • Only department-hosted events, research meetings, and certain graduate student groups will be allowed to consume food/drink at indoor events hosted in Cory/Soda
  • Regular business hours in Cory/Soda are M-F, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm (closed 12:00-1:00pm). Rooms must be vacated before campus buildings close at 10:00 pm and cannot be booked for overnight events (XRG events excluded).
  • During prime hours (M-F, 10 am – 5 pm), conference rooms (non-classrooms) can only be booked for department-, instruction-, or research-related meetings and events.
  • Please keep bookings for meetings outside of prime hours limited to a maximum of 2-3 hours per week.*  This request has been made to give as many groups as possible an opportunity to use the few rooms available.
  • Please read FAQ #6 below to determine if your room requires key card access or a metal key and how to obtain the key. This information is also included in the confirmation email that you receive once your reservation is confirmed.
  • Events aimed at recruitment, promotion, and marketing to students by visitors to the university must be approved by the EECS External Relations Group (cap-admin@eecs-berkeley.edu)
  • Room reservations take 4 business days to process and are not considered booked until they are CONFIRMED!
    • no room confirmation emails will be sent for Cory rooms – check the public calendar for your event to confirm the approval status.

*Does not apply to sanctioned, course-related activities.

Guidelines

Room usage:  Restrictions and guidelines vary per room. See Room Availability for details.  Only the leaders of a subset of EECS-affiliated student groups, Academic Student Employees (ASE), faculty, staff, and graduate students may book rooms in Cory or Soda.  Check which groups qualify to book rooms.

Food/drink: Only the leaders of a subset of graduate student groups may hold events with food/drink in Cory or Soda.  Check which student groups qualify to hold events with food/drinks.

Advance reservations:  With few exceptions, reservations for Spring/Summer semester can be made after Veteran’s Day of the previous semester, and reservations for Fall semester can be made beginning May 1 of the previous semester.

Priority bookings:  The room schedulers reserve the right to cancel or move any confirmed booking if the room is urgently needed for an important academic or department function.

Reservations for classrooms: Office hours and homework parties can now be booked in classrooms. You can begin making office hours and homework party reservations in classrooms (Soda 306, 310, 320 & 405) ONE week before classes begin. For all other events, you have to wait until week 4 to book classrooms for reservations scheduled M-F before 8 pm.

Homework parties: These events can be held in the Woz Lounge (430-438 Soda) and 540-AB Cory. The Woz Lounge may NOT be booked between the hours of 11:00 am – 2:00 pm M-F. Homework parties can also be held in classrooms (306, 310, 320, & 405) anytime from 8 am-10 pm and in Department & Research rooms (Soda 373, 380, 511, & 606) after 5 pm.

Office hours: Office hours can be held anytime from 8 am-10 pm in Alcove rooms (411, 347, 326, 341B, 283E, and 283H). Office hours can also be held in classrooms (306, 310, 320, & 405) anytime from 8 am-10 pm and in Department & Research rooms (Soda 373, 380, 511, & 606) after 5 pm.

Late & no-shows: After 20 minutes a reservation is forfeited and the remainder of the time is given to the first drop-in user.

After-hours events: For evening events or events over a weekend, please make an appointment to check out any necessary keys from 253 Cory Hall on the weekday of the event (Friday at the latest for weekend events). Appointments are available M-F, 10:00 -11:30 am. Appointments must be made a minimum of 2 days before the scheduled pick-up. Check to see if your room is accessible via keycard or metal key.

Event cleanup: Reserving space in Soda and Cory Halls is a privilege that can be revoked if your group fails to clean up after your event. See the Event Cleanup rules below.

K-12 outreach: For events involving minors or K-12 outreach, please see the following resources: K-12 outreach resources for the UC community; Lead Center.

Recruitment: Events aimed at recruitment, promotion, and marketing to students by visitors to the university must be approved by the EECS External Relations Group (cap-admin@eecs-berkeley.edu)

FAQ

  1. How far in advance can I reserve a room?

  2. Can I use a room without reserving it?

  3. Where can I hold Office Hours and Study Groups?

  4. Where else can I reserve rooms on campus?

  5. What are the business hours for Soda and Cory Halls?

  6. Which rooms require keys to unlock?

  7. How do I gain access to a room after business hours?

  8. How do I report missing furniture from a room?

  9. How do I report a dirty/messy room?

  10. Someone is in the room that I reserved. What should I do?

  11. Whom do I contact if I have a question that is not on this list?

Event Cleanup Rules

When you request to reserve a room, you not only become responsible for the conduct of the people attending the event, but also for the condition of the room at the end of the event. Three or more complaints about room cleanliness, missing furniture, or rearranged furniture will result in the loss of reservation privileges for you and/or your student organization.

Avoid becoming responsible for someone else’s mess by ensuring doors are closed and locked at the end of your event. If someone is using the room right after your event, ask if they have scheduled the room for use. If you find a room in poor condition at the beginning of your event, please email a photo to soda-rooms@eecs.berkeley.edu (Soda Hall) or cory-rooms@eecs.berkeley.edu (Cory Hall) along with the date and name of your event.

  • When your event is over, you are expected to return furniture to its original layout and, as much as possible, leave the room the way you found it. This includes wiping down tables and throwing away trash.
  • If waste generated by your event’s participants does not fit in the trash/recycling/compost bins:  Soda room users must deliver excess trash directly to the dumpster located in the West driveway of Etcheverry Hall;  Cory room users must deliver excess trash directly into the dumpsters located outside the 1st floor (southeast) entrance to Cory Hall (behind Hearst Mining).
  • Woz cleaning fees: Other CoE departments, research centers, and non-EECS groups must pay a cleaning fee to use the Woz Lounge for events during the evening or several hours during a weekday. This fee varies and can ONLY be paid by providing a chart string account number.
    • soda-rooms@eecs.berkeley.edu will email you to receive chart string info after requesting the room.

Special Events

Some events require permits that can take up to 10 business days to process and can require a sponsor as well as multiple signatures.

Planning ahead is the key to success!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How far in advance can I reserve a room?

  • Requests for Spring/Summer semester reservations will be accepted after Veteran’s Day of the previous Fall semester.
  • Requests for Fall semester reservations will be accepted after May 1 of the previous semester.

All room bookings must be made at least four days in advance of events.

2. Can I use a room without reserving it?

You may only use the meeting rooms in Soda and Cory Halls if you have a confirmed reservation.  In Soda Hall, CS undergraduates may use the 341 upper division undergraduate lounge, or the 3rd floor Woz Terrace (if it is not being used for a department event).   In Cory Hall, undergraduates may use the 2nd floor TI Lounge and central courtyard, and the 3rd floor Newton Lounge at the Sutardja Dai bridge.

3. Where can I hold Office Hours and Study Groups?

Study groups cannot be held in Soda Hall 

Office Hours can be held anytime from 8 am-10 pm in an alcove (NOTE: Alcoves on the 3rd floor are only available for upper division class support). Office hours can also be held in classrooms (306, 310, 320, & 405) anytime from 8 am-10 pm and in Department & Research rooms (Soda 373, 380, 511, & 606) after 5 pm.

In Cory Hall, they can be held in the following:

  • TI Lounge (the open area across from 241 Cory)
  • 367, 400, 504 (CS office hours can be booked in these rooms on weekdays before 10 am and after 5 pm)

212, 258 & 284 are no longer available for office hours.

4. Where else can I reserve rooms on campus?

If you are unable to reserve space in Soda or Cory Halls, you may want to consider the following options:

5. What are the business hours for Soda and Cory Halls?

  • Soda Hall: Monday-Friday, 8:00 am-4:00 pm (closed 12:00-1:00 pm)
  • Cory Hall: Monday-Friday, 8:00 am-4:00 pm (closed 12:00-1:00 pm)
  • Buildings close at 10 pm

6. Which rooms require keys to unlock

The Woz (430-438 Soda), 380 Soda, 510 Soda, 511 Soda, and Cory 540B require card key access. If you need card key access to a meeting room, please request access using the EECS conference room access request form no later than two business days prior to your event.  You will need the following information:
  • Name
  • Student ID Number and Proxy Numbers (6 digits on back of ID card)
  • Event Name
  • Room Needed
  • Date and time of event
The HP Auditorium (306 Soda) will be locked outside of regular business hours (9 am – 4 pm on weekdays and anytime on weekends). If you need a metal key, please fill out the EECS conference room access request form, and schedule your key pick-up. Keys are picked up at 253 Cory Hall. Key pick-up appointments are available M-F, 10-11:30 am.  Appointments must be made a minimum of two days before the scheduled pick-up.

7. How do I gain access to a room after business hours?

If you need card key access to a meeting room, please request access using the EECS conference room access request form no later than two business days prior to your event.  You will need the following information:

  • Name
  • Student ID Number and Proxy Numbers (6 digits on back of ID card)
  • Event Name
  • Room Needed
  • Day and Time of Event

If you need a metal key, please fill out the EECS conference room access request form, and schedule your key pick-up. Keys are picked up at 253 Cory Hall. Key pick-up appointments are available M-F, 10-11:30am.  Appointments must be made a minimum of 2 days before the scheduled pick-up.

8. How do I report missing furniture from a room?

Email soda-rooms@eecs.berkeley.edu or cory-rooms@eecs.berkeley.edu or stop by the front desk to report the problem if it is during normal business hours.

9. How do I report a dirty/messy room?

Email a description of what you found to soda-rooms@eecs.berkeley.edu or cory-rooms@eecs.berkeley.edu. Please include the following information:

  • Room number
  • Date and time
  • Photo if possible
  • Was the room closed/locked?
  • Someone is in a room that I have reserved. What do I do?

If you have a confirmed reservation for the room and are within 15 minutes of the beginning of the reservation, POLITELY interrupt the people in the room and inform them you have a confirmed reservation. If, for some reason, the other group doesn’t vacate the room, please contact either soda-rooms@eecs.berkeley.edu or cory-rooms@eecs.berkeley.edu.

10. Someone is in a room that I have reserved. What should I do?

If you have a confirmed reservation for the room and are within 15 minutes of the beginning of the reservation, POLITELY interrupt the people in the room and inform them you have a confirmed reservation. If, for some reason, the other group doesn’t vacate the room, please contact either soda-rooms@eecs.berkeley.edu or cory-rooms@eecs.berkeley.edu.

11. Whom do I contact if I have a question that is not on this list?

Questions about Cory rooms should be sent to cory-rooms@eecs.berkeley.edu. Questions about Soda rooms should be sent to soda-rooms@eecs.berkeley.edu