Hundreds of angry students at Dickinson College recently marched on the administration building to demand greater public disclosure of sexual assaults at the 2,300-student private institution near Harrisburg, Pa.The students obtained some concessions -- their administrators agreed to more readily activate the campus-wide alert system upon learning of sex crimes -- and they also spotlighted what Pennsylvania's Patriot-News called the "top-secret justice system" that enables colleges to minimize public disclosure of campus offenses, even violent ones.In an extensive investigation published last year, the Center for Public Integrity analyzed the annual crime statistics filed with the U.S.
Author: Frank LoMonte
Appeals court delivers favorable affirmation of college faculty free-expression rights
A federal appeals court has recognized a heightened right of First Amendment protection for college instructors rooted in the doctrine of academic freedom, addressing a question that the U.S.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: Sometimes, you’ve got FOIA friends in high places
The scandal-plagued University of Illinois, where a controversial VIP-preference admissions system has already toppled the president and the chair of the board of trustees, continues operating in "public transparency bunker" mode.
Peabody Award-winning NPR feature on campus sexual assault provides a road map for college journalists
The inability of campus disciplinary systems to deal adequately with sexual-assault cases has been a subject of intense media scrutiny. Rarely has the story been told with as much depth and effectiveness as in NPR's series, "Seeking Justice for Campus Rapes," in which multiple student victims came forward and told their stories on the record, putting their voices on-air and their faces online to dramatize the frequency with which forced sex goes unpunished.On Thursday, the producers of the "Seeking Justice" series were honored with one of 39 Peabody Awards, perhaps the most prestigious award in all of broadcasting, presented annually by the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.The series explores the impact on victims -- some of whom end up dropping out of school to avoid contact with their attackers -- when a student conduct system that was never designed to handle serious criminal offenses deals out little-to-no punishment.It also highlights -- for victims and for journalists -- the availability of a little-known resource, the U.S.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: The Price of Pull — learning to navigate lobbyist spending disclosures
Right up there with utilities, insurance companies and pharmaceutical manufacturers, some of the biggest spenders on lobbying state legislatures are colleges and universities.For public institutions, the reasons are pretty obvious.
SPLC joins Reporters Committee brief urging federal court to overturn Virginia’s ‘residents only’ FOI law
In the vast majority of U.S. states, "public records" are just that -- accessible to any member of the public.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: Bankruptcy Court records are like a financial colonoscopy, polyps and all
Nightclub impresario Marc Barnes became legendary on the Washington, D.C., party circuit with his exclusive A-list events catering to NBA stars and chart-topping entertainers.
Advocates fear budget cutbacks endanger independence of Connecticut’s FOI Commission
With states under pressure to trim an estimated $180 billion from their budgets, openness in government can begin to look like an unaffordable luxury item.Advocates for sunshine in government are closely watching the statehouse in Connecticut, where new Gov.
SUNSHINE WEEK 2011: Your right to know — take it out for a spin and see what it can do
I recently had the chance to teach a workshop about the use of freedom-of-information laws to some exceptionally bright college journalists from across the South.
TRANSPARENCY TUESDAY: Illinois ruling may restore balance between secrecy and accountability in schools
When a government agency gets a request for public records that contains confidential information about private citizens, most state laws enable the agency to engage in a common-sense balancing of interests.