Journalism students scattered across Faulkner County, aiming to get public records from various agencies under the Freedom of Information Act.
Rob Moritz, journalism professor and treasurer of the Arkansas Society of Professional Journalists, said the Nov. 15 FOIA audit was inspired by a state-wide audit done in 1999.
“The other reason was the legislature, a year and a half ago, had a special session where there were attempts to amend the state’s Freedom of Information Act, and some of the proposals would have really damaged the ability to get public information,” Moritz said. “There were some proposals dealing with the governor’s security that were passed to make it more difficult to get that information. But overall, the people were able to withstand any type of major changes to the FOI. And of course, legislature started last week, and there’s all sorts of talk about there may be some proposals to change things this time.”
The FOIA allows any person to request public records at the local, state and national levels. In Arkansas, government entities have up to three business days to provide a record requested under the FOIA.
Gabe White, a junior majoring in journalism, and UCA alumna Anna Yanosick ventured to the Faulkner County Health Department to request the most recent restaurant inspection report for Bear’s Den Pizza.
“We just went to one of the front desk clerks, and she was fairly nice. She seemed a bit confused, but she went to one of her higher-ups, and eventually, she came out one of the side doors, and she was pretty suspicious,” White said. “Immediately, she asked us why we needed this, and we gave her honest answers like we are just Conway residents looking for reports or being curious about the community in general.”
White said, “She definitely did not want to help. She kept telling us that if we wanted the information, we can find it online, but she was not going to be able to give that to us in person.”
Yanosick said the website they were given was “outdated.”
“It was kind of difficult to find the report. I feel like it could have been easier, and she was rude to us,” she said.
Yanosick said it is important for officials to be familiar with the FOIA.
“I guess she kind of did what she was supposed to because she told us where to go, but she asked why we needed it — so that’s wrong. That was the biggest thing. She wasn’t supposed to ask us why.”
Mary Lyle, a sophomore majoring in political science and sociology, went to the Faulkner County Attorney’s Office to look at the most recent contract between the county and the company that provides medical services to the county jail.
“They seemed a little surprised that I asked, but they just said, ‘OK,’ and then went into their office and printed it off for me,” Lyle said. “So it wasn’t really a big ordeal. It took like two minutes. They didn’t ask for names or anything.”
Lyle’s positive experience in requesting records reinforced the importance of the FOIA.
“I think it’s important for them to know FOIA because we all have the right to request records, and by not knowing FOIA, they could potentially restrict our rights as citizens by not providing that information,” Lyle said.
Other students involved in the audit requested records at the Mayflower Police Department, the Conway School District, Conway City Hall, the Greenbrier Police Department, the Vilonia City Council and more.
Moritz said, “For the most part, when they [the students] went in, people gave them the information, and it went really well.”