Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2014

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The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916

W W W.O U DA I LY.C O M

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WHY WE’RE JOINING A LAWSUIT AGAINST OU OUR VIEW: We’re turning to the courts to define the

FERPA was established in 1974 to protect the privacy of stulimitations of the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy dent education records in the midst of growing abuse of stuAct. dent records across the nation, according to the Student Press Law Center website. The act defines “education records” as Today, The Oklahoma Daily is suing OU for withholding records that “directly relate” to students. records that we believe are public under the Oklahoma Open Since the law was established, universities and colleges Records Act. We hope this lawsuit will serve as a precedent for have used it to withhold records related to students. colleges and universities where administrators are misinterIn 1997, the University of Maryland cited FERPA when it depreting an important federal law which, in turn, keeps infornied its student newspaper access to students’ parking tickmation from the public. ets. The Maryland Court of Appeals sided with the newspaper The Oklahoma Open Records Act was created to provide and ruled the parking tickets were not protected under the citizens access to information about the government. The act act. A similar situation happened in 2010 when the University states, “ … People are vested with the inherent right to know of North Carolina’s student newspaper was denied access to and be fully informed about their government.” students’ parking tickets. The court sided with the newspaper, Because OU is a public university funded in part — albeit ruling the tickets were not educational records. small — by the state government, many of OU’s records are This lawsuit isn’t merely about finding out who is getting open to the public. Journalists use open records as a reporting parking tickets — it’s about a public institution denying actool for stories, but anybody can request records through the cess to records and citing an act that does not apply. OU Open Records Office. While we don’t have a reason to believe OU has anything to For example, we used open records to investigate comhide in these parking ticket records, there is plaints about former Pride of Oklahoma director Justin no way to know until the records are released. Our View is Stolarik in fall 2013. Through the Open Records Office, we the majority Student Press Law Center executive diopinion of obtained letters about the band’s leadership that members rector Frank LoMonte said in a March 2013 The Daily’s had sent to the President’s Action Line. Since members were story that parking citations aren’t educational nine-member hesitant to voice their complaints to The Daily for fear of jeopeditorial board records because visitors can get them when ardizing their positions in the band, the records provided inthey come to campus. Also, he said they arsight into their concerns. en’t private records because they are publicly Access to records is essential for journalists to successfully displayed on cars. keep a watch on government and public institutions, and for “A parking ticket is left stuck on the window of a car where this reason The Daily is joining a lawsuit that was originally passing pedestrians can look at it,” he said. “Would the colfiled by journalism senior Joey Stipek in May 2013. Stipek, lege put your report card underneath your windshield wiper, who is currently the special projects editor at The Daily, sued or a copy of your transcripts?” OU President David Boren and the director of OU’s Open We believe this denial of open records exemplifies how Records Office when the director wouldn’t release students’ FERPA has been used to censor information from the public. parking ticket records. The U.S. court system exists to interpret laws, and because Stipek filed a request for the records in fall 2012 to investiof the discrepancies about whether students’ parking tickets gate whether the university was granting preferential parkare open records, we are turning to the courts to decide. We ing ticket appeals to any individuals on campus. The Open hope the court’s decision will set a precedent that will more Records Office denied the request, claiming the records are clearly define FERPA and when it actually applies. protected under the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA. Comment online at OU Daily.com

WHAT IS FERPA? FERPA, or the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, is a federal law protecting the privacy of student educational records. FERPA gives parents or students 18 and over the right to inspect the student’s education records. The act allows students to request that errors in their education records be fixed. FERPA allows for non-consensual disclosure of students’ directory information, including name, phone number, address, photo, honors and awards, year and major, and degrees obtained.

WHAT IS THE OPEN RECORDS ACT? The Freedom of Information Act is a federal law giving Americans the right to access information about the federal government. In addition to the Freedom of Information Act, all 50 states have public records laws to allow members of the public access to documents pertaining to state and local governments. The Oklahoma Open Records Act was passed in 1985 and is designed to promote governmental transparency and keep political power in the hands of the people. As explained in the Open Records Act,

“The purpose of this act is to ensure and facilitate the public’s right of access to and review of government records so they may efficiently and intelligently exercise their inherent political power.” Go to OUDaily.com for a list of the records we’re requesting. To make a records request at OU, email openrecords@ou.edu. Anyone in Oklahoma can make a public records request. Find out how to make an open records request in Oklahoma here at ballotpedia. org/Requesting_copies_of_public_ records.

JANUX

MOVEMBER

TV resource enchances history class Stop shaving, raise funds for research

OU teams up with the History Channel to offer new online class through Janux

OU students start campaign to increase awareness of fight against prostate cancer

PAGE JONES News Reporter @pageousm

MEGHAN WHITING

Students can earn general education credit and learn about America’s past by taking an online class presented by OU and the History Channel next semester. OU and the History Channel have teamed up to offer an online course through Janux, according to a press release. Steve Gillon, an OU professor and a History Channel scholar-in-residence will teach the course, titled “United States 1865 to the Present,” according to the press release. The course counts for three credit hours, and will last 16 weeks starting Jan. 12, according to the press release. Students taking the course will participate in online quizzes, essays and discussions, just like they would in any other course, according to the website. However, this course will feature more video footage than other online courses, said Erin Yarbrough, OU’s vice presiPHOTO PROVIDED dent for Web Communications. OU and the History Channel are teaming up to create an online class SEE JANUX PAGE 2

WEATHER Partly cloudy today with a high of 37, low of 23. Follow @AndrewGortonWX on Twitter for weather updates.

next semester through Janux.

INDEX

@OUDaily

News......................2 Classifieds................3 Life&Ar ts..................3 Opinion.....................1 Spor ts........................4

OUDaily

Students of Lindsey + Asp Advertising and Public Relations Agency are holding a No-Shave November campaign to raise awareness for prostate cancer — an issue that hits them close to home. Early in the planning stages of the agency’s campaign for the awareness event, faculty adviser Robert “Pritch” Pritchard announced to the team that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer last summer, Pritchard said. “I wanted to keep it low-key and not let it define me,” Pritchard said. “But I thought it would be appropriate to share, and I’ve been humbled with the amount of support this whole campaign is getting.” The Lindsey + Asp team put a lot of planning into various events for No-Shave November, Pritchard said. SEE MOVEMBER PAGE 2

CONTACT US

theoklahomadaily

News Reporter @heyitsmeghanw

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