PAGE 4 // WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2011
NEWS
the pendulum i
N.C. Open Government Coalition sheds liglit on
public record issues through Sunshine Day
Kassondra Cloos
News Editor
Even though the vast
majority of North Carolina
residents think government
transparency is the solution
to corruption, only 7 percent
think the government is
easily accessible, according
to a recent Elon Poll.
Government transparency
and accessibility are what
the Sunshine Center, part of
the N.C. Open Government
Coalition, is working to
improve through education
and outreach.
The Center, run out of Elon
University, hosted its fourth
annual Sunshine Day March
17 in Salisbury to celebrate
and work to protect citizens'
rights to access information.
The day was successful,
with about 100 attendees,
according to Brooke Barnett,
assistant to the president
and associate professor of
communications.
“These laws are for anyone
seeking information about
the government,” she said.
“Sunshine Week is a week to
acknowledge those laws."
Sunshine Day was open
to the public and consisted of
panels of journalists, public
officials, attorneys, professors
and others who discussed
topics including FERPA, the
Family Educational Rights
and Privacy Act, and access to
local government documents.
Tom Ross, the new
president of the University
of North Carolina system,
delivered the keynote speech.
Ross spoke about many of
the challenges the system
faces with regard to publicly
accessible information.
“The government’s only
going to be as responsive as
people insist that it be,” said
Steve Riley, vice president
and president-elect of the
Sunshine Center and a
senior editor at The News &
Observer. “(It’s important)
not just for TV, newspapers
and radio stations, but for the
people to understand that it’s
their access that’s important
and when an informed
public demands it, it’s more
important than the news
media,”
The Elon Poll found that
nearly half of respondents
had never attempted to access
government records, and a
poll from 2009 found that 63
percent of respondents were
not aware of the sunshine
laws, which protect access to
these documents.
It’s important to know
these laws are not just for
the media, Barnett said,
giving the example that
citizens participating in a
neighborhood watch could
use police records to keep
track of crime in their area in
order to determine solutions.
One of the panels discussed
the results of a records audit
done by Campbell University
to determine accessibility of
county government records.
What was interesting, Riley
said, was the inconsistency
demonstrated by the
counties. Some requests for
information were met with
total cooperation, while
others faced questions about
why the information was
needed, which is illegal, or
not answered at all,
“We demand public
records all the time and we’ll
keep demanding them," Riley
said, “But if average citizens
are saying ‘no way, you
should give this up,’ people
support that. Citizens have
to be persistent, number one.
They can’t just take no for an
answer and walk away.”
The motivation behind
keeping certain public
records hidden from the
public is varied, Riley said.
Often, officials responsible
for providing copies of the
information are unaware
that they need to give it up, a
problem the Sunshine Center
works to amend.
But occasionally, people
attempt to cover things up.
Riley said persistence is the
first defense measure against
stubbornness, but lawyers
are often necessary for larger
cases.
“In some cases, if they
know you’re not going to sue
them, they’ll just keep saying
no,” he said.
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Domestic study program in Elon’s future
Melissa Kansky
Assistant News Editor
Elon University is looking to develop
a signature domestic study away
program to support the institution's
commitment to diversity, as indicated
in The Elon Commitment.
Domestic study away programs
will generate engaged academic
experiences away from the campus and
the classroom, said Brooke Barnett,
assistant to the president.
Students do not need to travel far to
experience diversity, she said. An urban
experience in Greensboro would still
contain educational value unattainable
in the classroom,
“While every experience is valuable,
the one on the ground is of particular
value," said Connie Book, associate
provost for Academic Affairs.
Such programs are not a foreign
concept to Elon students and faculty.
Summer programs in New York
and Los Angeles support The Elon
Commitment's diversity goals. Book
said.
“They engage students with
different populations,” she said. “Those
students have to take a class together
and complete an internship and both
of those experiences in heavy urban
populations introduce them to ways
of life that are unique and supplement
classroom experiences,”
Other examples of preexisting
domestic study away programs include
a Winter Term course in Hawaii and a
Teaching Fellows civil rights history
tour. Book also referred to a 10-day trip
to New Orleans she led during Winter
Term to show the academic value of a
domestic program.
During the 10-day period, students
examined the role of emergency radio
during Hurricane Katrina and had
the opportunity to interview radio
listeners and emergency fire personnel
regarding the importance of radio.
“When you're on the ground
experiencing something, it is
transformative,” she said. “I could
not have lectured that.” Although
participation in existing programs
indicates student interest, Barnett
said the development of a signature
domestic study away program is in its
infancy.
“We are hoping to create something
that will have multiple lengths and
distances away as well as diversity
within the groups,” she said.
A full menu of options costing
between a few hundred and a couple
of thousand dollars is expected to be
developed. Book said.
Cost would depend on number
of credit hours, location, duration
and activities associated with the
experience.
“We are hoping to create something
that will have multiple lengths and
distances away as well as diversity
within the groups,” Barnett said.
While new travel opportunities
focus on domestic diversity issues,
Barnett said she does not intend for
the development of a domestic study
away program to replace study abroad
experiences.
Book said she does not believe
domestic study away options will
decrease the number of students
Goats in The Elon Commitment’s
objective to increase diversity:
• Double need-based financial aid
• Triple international enrollment
• Create some signature domestic study
away program
• Ensure 1 GO percent access to study
abroad
• Construct the Multi-Faith Center
studying abroad. Students still study
abroad despite participation in the New
York program, she said.
“It's something we hope people
will do in addition to study abroad,”
Barnett said. "Because people don't
study abroad in their first year we hope
people will do this in their first year,”
Book said she wants to engage
students in all years. Participation
in current domestic travel programs
is across the board and she said she
expects level of interest to continue.
Details concerning destinations,
course topics, costs and duration have
yet to be determined.
com
^T^esidence
Elon woman found guilty in hit-and-run
STUDIO APARTMENTS
WITH EVERYTHING INCLUDED!
Only $550/Month
Call (336)516-4777 for an
Appointment!
Anna Johnson
Edrtcr-in-Chief
An Elon
woman arrested
and charged
with hitting
and leaving an
Elon University
student last
semester was
found guilty for
a felony hit-and-
run.
Robin Stanfield
Ragsdale, of 500
James Toney
Drive, was found
guilty of a felony hit-and-run and
of violating her 2008 parole. She is
scheduled to serve a total of 21 months
in prison and will have her license
revoked for two years, according to
court documents.
Ragsdale hit freshman Toorialey
Robin Ragsdale of Elon
was found guilty of a felony
Nt-and-nm.
Fazly as he rode his bicycle to his 8
a.m. class Sept. 15. He was airlifted
to Duke Medical Center and sustained
three cracked vertebrae. Ragsdale was
ordered to pay $2,800 toward Fazly's
medical bills.
In 2007, Ragsdale, under the name
Robin Michelle Stanfield, was found
guilty in a July accident that left
four people dead. Pedestrians were
attending to a broken-down car on
University Drive near East Haggard
Avenue when Ragsdale’s car ran off
the road and hit the stopped car.
Michael King, 43, of Swepsonville,
and Mildred Isley, 57, Freddie Coulter,
55, and his wife, Sandra Coulter, 51,
all of Graham, were killed in the
accident. Larry Isley Jr., of Graham,
was the only survivor.
Ragsdale has two pending cases
including a misdemeanor resisting a
public officer and misdemeanor for
simple assault. She is scheduled to
appear in court May 12.