Frequently Asked Questions
Read this: There are around 10 table booking requests for each school day, and around 200 organizations actively requesting table bookings. There are only 65 school days per semester (13 weeks), and only 195 tables total on those days. So, many groups may not be granted any tables in a given semester.
Note: If you request more than one table in any given week, we will likely only grant you one table for that week.
How do you decide who gets a table?
The Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) offers three tables in the Leacock lobby to its departmental associations to help them advertise and fundraise for their events, which directly benefit students in the Faculty of Arts. Non-Arts groups may request a table in the lobby, but priority is given to Arts departmental associations. Here is the priority list, roughly:
- Arts departmental association
- Non-Arts departmental association
- SSMU club, group, service, or media
- McGill group or sports team
- Greek association
- Non-McGill group
So, an Arts departmental association may be granted a table that other groups had requested weeks earlier. The AUS generally grants a table at most two weeks before the date of the booking, in order to allow departmental associations time to make a request.
Groups who have been granted the fewest tables in the current semester are also given priority. However, even if a group has been granted no tables in the current semester, it is not guaranteed a table. The AUS does not take into account how many requests a group has made.
The table booking system does not operate uniquely on a first-come, first-serve basis, but in the case that no group has priority, the AUS will grant the table to the group that was first to request the table. However, it usually doesn't matter how far in advance you request a table.
In sum, the AUS uses three basic criteria to decide who gets a table: (1) the group with the highest priority, (2) the group with the fewest tables granted in the current semester, and (3) the group that was first to request a table.
What can I do to improve my odds of getting a table?
Request a table on as many days as possible, to make sure you get at least one request granted. You can then cancel your requests for the other days. Do not expect to get a table on a busy day like Valentine's Day.
If you are not an Arts departmental association, then it is harder to get a samosa sale or a bake sale, because:
- we grant only one of each sale per day (to avoid competition);
- about seven groups request such sales every day (two-thirds of all requests);
- many groups with higher priority request such sales every day.
To make sure you don't get rejected for a food-related conflict, the other food sale option is your best bet. Ideas:
- Breakfast
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- bagels
- croissants
- danishes
- waffles
- Snacks
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- chili
- fruit
- grilled cheese
- pierogies
- pizza
- popcorn
- sandwiches
- spring rolls
- sushi
- zaatar
- Sweets
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- baklava
- chocolate
- churros
- cotton candy
- doughnuts
- pastries
- Drinks
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- coffee and tea
- hot chocolate
- smoothies
- lemonade