Vis Lupi Est Grex

Updated: [TITLE REDACTED]

Updated at 7:15 p.m.
We didn't notice this from before but apparently Chris Day's application material was omitted from the supporting material. It is available here.

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Updated at 6:13 p.m.

We are happy to report that Speaker Geremia has complied with the law and made available the unredacted version of the supporting material for the applicants to the vacant COLA Senate seat, which will be selected on Wednesday. (By tomorrow, we hope to have our thoughts of the candidates posted on the blog.)

We wish to publicly praise Ms. Geremia for responding to this issue with the utmost professionalism and speed.

Because the matter is now closed, we publish our original communications with the Speaker, and her response, so the record is clear.

From: Gracie L Geremia
Date: Mon, May 4, 2009 at 5:54 PM
Subject: RE: Supporting material for May 6 Senate meeting
To: Vis Lupi Est Grex

The applications with the information have been updated on pdf. The orginal documents were not redacted or altered.


Gracie Geremia
77th Session Speaker of the Senate
Associated Students of the University of Nevada

________________________________
From: Vis Lupi Est Grex [vislupiestgrex@gmail.com]

Sent: Monday, May 04, 2009 3:33 PM
To: Gracie L Geremia
Cc: Yvonne Pena; Sandra Rodriguez
Subject: Re: Supporting material for May 6 Senate meeting


Dear Madam Speaker,

Now that we have had a chance to inspect the documents, we have a concern. Could you explain the legal authority for redacting the contact information of the applicants? We are aware of no legal authority authorizing the redaction of the contact info of the candidates. We will acknowledge that the GPA and the Student ID number of the candidates is properly redacted under federal law (namely the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, as amended), but we dispute the authority for redacting the other information, as it was voluntarily supplied by the candidates.

NRS 239.010 makes these records public. NRS 239.0105 states that certain records are not public records, but the situation as laid out in that statute does not apply to this circumstance. Under NRS 239.0107(1)(d), the governmental entity must make "[a] citation to the specific statute or other legal authority that makes the public book or record, or a part thereof, confidential."

In addition, we are not aware of it ever being the practice of the Senate to redact personal contact information from applications for office. See, for instance, the application carried in the agenda packet for the March 12, 2008, Senate meeting (link). Public records may only be redacted when they are "declared by law to be confidential."

Furthermore, under NRS 241.020(5)(c), supporting material can only be withheld if it is submitted "pursuant to a nondisclosure or confidentiality agreement which relates to proprietary information," which is not the case in this instance as no proprietary information is at issue, or is "[d]eclared confidential by law," which we do not believe to be true in this case.

Also, under the University's policy, in accordance with FERPA, certain information, called directory information, is not confidential. That information includes address, telephone number, email address, etc., of the student involved, which is exactly the information redacted from the applications and supporting material.

Finally, although we dispute that any such privacy interest exists, considering that each applicant voluntarily submitted contact information, many of whom did so on resumes in addition to the form, it is evidence that each candidate intended to waive any confidentiality or privacy interest he had in those items.

We should also note that it is a category C felony under state law (NRS 239.300) to alter or deface a public record. Improper redaction would qualify as an illegal alteration or defacement of a public record. Category C felonies are punishable by 1 to 5 years in prison and/or a fine of not more than $10,000.

Please send to us immediately unredacted copies of the material, as is required both under the Open Meeting Law and the Public Records Act. If the Senate maintains that the information is properly withheld, please cite to the specific law authorizing the redaction.

Sincerely,

The Ladies and Gentlemen of
Vis Lupi Est Grex

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Speaker of the Senate [REDACTED] decided to withhold certain information from the [REDACTED] for the vacant Senate seat, namely [REDACTED], [REDACTED], and [REDACTED]. We have obtained the records at issue, below.

ASUN Senate Vacant COLA Seat Applications, May 6, 2009

[REDACTED], we hear the W. Bush Presidential Library could use your redaction services.

Sincerely,

The Ladies and Gentlemen of
[REDACTED]