BFC votes against criticism of Brand on records stance

A resolution criticizing President Brand for spending funds to prevent the release of University documents was defeated by the Bloomington Faculty Council Tuesday. Ambiguous wording of the proposal and input from University Counsel Dottie Frapwell influenced the measure's defeat. \nThe vote was nearly unanimous. \nThe resolution stated the faculty's commitment to "the principle of open access" and urged the president to "ensure that no further University funds are expended in support of efforts to prevent the release of pubic documents."\nIn October 2000, The Indianapolis Star filed a lawsuit against IU claiming that it violated the state's Access to Public Records Act in refusing to release files related to the firing of Bob Knight. Judge Jane Spencer Craney ruled in favor of IU in November, but the lawsuit continues in appeals court. IU has spent over $200,000 in litigation fees to date. \nThe Knight files have not been disclosed, Frapwell said, because they contain sensitive information about students. By state law, these documents will remain private to protect the students. \nBusiness Law Professor Laura Ginger expressed concern about the resolution.\n"What is a public record?" she asked. \nFrom a faculty standpoint, passing this resolution could set a dangerous precedent in the precarious definition of public records, she said. \n"I'm not sure I've always agreed with the University Counsel," she said. "But we shouldn't pass a resolution that says 'rollover.' It would be unwise."\nProfessor of chemistry Vic Viola, who sponsored the resolution, said the University is fighting a needless battle. The contentious documents should be released, and state money should not be spent protecting them, he said. \n"My concern is the lawsuit is seriously damaging the University reputation," said Viola. "The most serious thing is the implication that there is something out there to hide."\nFrapwell assured the faculty that the University has complied with the Indiana Access to Public Records Act in full. \nFrapwell also defended the principle of keeping certain documents private from the media. \n"Privacy rights are our biggest concern," she said. "The chilling effect of (releasing documents to the media) will have on people under investigation and whether or not they will appear on the front page of the paper hampers our ability as a public institution."\nFaculty Council President Bob Eno noted the ambiguities of the resolution's mention of "public documents held by the University."\nThese documents are, by law, not public, he said. \n"The principle of open access has never prevented the release of these documents," he said. "There is some ambiguity here."\nAlthough the Faculty Council did not pass the resolution, it produced lively debate on the open access law and the principle of public records. \nOpponents of the resolution cautioned that advocating complete public access to records at IU could lead to the details of sexual harassment and tenure cases being splashed across the front pages of newspapers. However, Viola said confidentiality can be counterproductive when it encourages false accusation.