Sunshine Week: This week The daily is participating in
sunshine Week, a week set apart to promote the importance of open government and freedom of information. much of our content will use information gathered from records requested through ou’s open records office.
Opinion: Open records are essential for accountability in government. (Page 4)
M O N DA Y, M A R C H 11, 2 013
SGA
SUNShiNe WeeK
Students discuss sequester Conference SGA leaders meet with legislators KAITLYN UNDERWOOD Campus reporter
As federal budget cuts threaten areas of higher education after the recent sequestration, members of OU’s student government traveled to Washington, D.C. to put faces to the issue. Members from each branch of OU’s Student
Government Association and student leaders from other Big 12 schools attended the annual Big 12 On the Hill in D.C March 4 through 6. OU student leaders met various representatives from across the country, including Oklahoma representatives Tom Cole (R-Moore) and James Lankford (R-Oklahoma City), to look into the implications of the sequestration among other
things in open conversations about education issues. OU delegates focused on the recent sequestration to ensure Pell grants are maintained, said Tonya Kiper, Undergraduate Student Congress vice-chairwoman. SGA members were told Pell grants will be secure for another year, and they discovered many representatives also have concerns about the sequestration, as it concerns education,
said John Montgomer y, Undergraduate Student Congress secretary. However, while the Pell grants are safe for now, many universities in the Big 12 Conference are research campuses, and the cuts enacted by the sequestration will hurt future research and development, Kiper said. “That’s how we’re going to find the next cure for cancer,”
sheds light on open records Open access records relevant to public, increases government accountability HALEY DAVIS
Campus reporter
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cUltUrAl NiGht
Oklahomans gathered to learn about the importance of open government and freedom of information at an annual conference Saturday to kick off Sunshine Week. The public has a right to know what its government is doing, said Joey Senat,media law professor at Oklahoma State University and the master of ceremony for the conference. However, people must understand their rights in order to use them. “The biggest threat to our rights is our own ignorance of those rights, and we have a right if not an obligation to know what our government is doing,” Senat said. Brenda Kielty, Maine’s first public access ombudsman, and Bill Monroe, chair man of the new Iowa Public Information Board, talked
about their roles in making government records and meetings accessible in their states. “Sunshine laws don’t mean anything if they can’t be enforced,” Monroe said. Open access to records and meetings isn’t just relevant for journalists – freedom of information affects the entire public, Kielty said. “The whole idea behind public access laws is that people should be able to understand how their government is functioning, and ultimately the government should function always with the idea in mind that it’s the people’s business,” Kielty said. Dan Krassner of Integrity Florida and Scott Sternberg, an attorney from Louisiana, talked about different ways people in their states are working to achieve better public access to their governors’ emails and other correspondence. State Rep. Jason Murphey see SUNSHINE paGe 2
at a GlanCe requesting public records anyone may request public records in oklahoma.
HeaTHer BroWn/THe daILy
Models for the columbian fashion show walked out on stage in catlett Music center on Saturday.
Colombian fashion showcased Students celebrate culture with night of festivities MATT RAVIS
Campus reporter
O U ’s C o l o m b i a n S t u d e n t Association organized its first ever fashion show to highlight the country’s forward-looking culture at Colombia Night on Saturday. The show featured Colombian dress with many bright and eye-catching reds, blues and yellows and
was directed by Carolina Gonzalez, Colombian Student Association secretary. The models showcased the collections of Yoana Walschap, the association’s advisor, Scott Van Eck, a well-known body painter, and Nicole Moan, who makes wearable art corsets made out of ceramics. Several of the models also donned either red, blue or purple paint that spanned much of their body. “My favorite thing about Colombian culture is that it is forward-looking,” said Erika Ramelli, master of
ceremonies for the event. She sees this evident in the fashion of the country, as many popular brands of clothing are produced in Colombia. Colombia Night began with a dinner of traditional Latin American food, including arroz con pollo, a chicken and rice dish. After the dinner, Colombian Night guests made their way to Catlett Hall for the night’s entertainment. Members of the association
oklahoma law requires all public bodies to designate a public records official, and records requests should be directed towards this official. The law does not require a statement of purpose for records requests. However, if the purpose is commercial, intended fees will be charged for document collection. There is, however, no restriction on the use of public
Source: Sunshine Review website
VOL. 98, NO. 111
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Issues in Middle Eastern architecture ‘Oz’ isn’t only spring film with big potential
Local building materials may not be best choice
L&a: Three action movies look to steal this season’s Hollywood spotlight. (Page 8)
MATT RAVIS
Campus reporter
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For records made by an individual for noncommercial purposes, fees may only be charged for the cost of duplication of the records. For records requests made with commercial intent or for records that present an abnormally large amount of labor, fees may be charged that cover the cost of labor involved in the search and duplication.
© 2012 oU Publications Board free — additional copies 25¢
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SYMPOSiUM
Many people around the world build houses made from earthen materials found near where they live, but while these materials are more sustainable they could cause problems for residents. C ha r l e s G ra ha m, d e a n o f t h e College of Architecture, addressed this issue in a lecture Friday as part of a symposium put on by OU’s Center for Middle Eastern Architecture and Culture. The symposium was held to present and discuss different aspects of architecture in the Middle East. Because of the Middle East’s hot and arid climate, it is necessary to build with materials that will stay relatively cool, Graham said. Even though it is a “reasonably sustainable” way to construct a house, it is not usually the cheapest way, Graham said. He also spoke of a case study he participated in that took place in Baja California Sur, in the village of Loreto,
records, once received.
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record reQuesTs The Oklahoma Daily regularly asks for access to public information from ou officials. Here is a list of the most-recent requests our reporters have submitted to the university. HeaTHer BroWn/THe daILy
Dr. charles W. Graham, dean of the college of architecture, speaks at the Middle eastern Architectures symposium Friday, March 8.
where he worked with locals to build sustainable, earthen housing for tourists and workers. With conventional building materials, the inside of the houses became much too hot at night, resulting in higher spousal and child abuse as well as a higher divorce rate, Graham said. In contrast to strategies for building
houses, another speaker at the symposium talked about a 131,000 square meter shopping mall his firm built in Kuwait. Jeffrey Gunning of the Dallas-based RTKL design and architecture firm talked about a souk, or Middle Eastern
Requested document and purpose
Date requested
the cost of one load of laundry in the washing machine in all OU laundry facilities within the last 10 years, the cost of one load of laundry in the drying machines in all OU laundry facilities within the last 10 years and the cost of maintaining all laundry facilities within the last 10 years — To see if there’s an influx in laundry costs and how much the university profi ts from laundry each year.
march 10
Visit OUDaily.com/openrecords for a full list of requests
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3/10/13 10:42 PM