Out in the open

The Freedom of Information Act is one of the most important federal laws in the book.
The FOIA establishes the right for the public to obtain information from government agencies, and we, as United States citizens, have the right to this information.
These agencies sometimes get stingy when it comes to releasing such records. The secretary of the office might stare at you and a concerned look may sweep over her face, then she will carefully dial the phone to someone in a secret room somewhere deep inside the building and whisper that some nosey person is wanting to know the budget for this year.
Don’t let her scare you. You have a right to be there. You have a right to know these things.
If someone requests information from a federal government agency, such as funding, salaries and court records, it is that agency’s responsibility to comply and hand it over.
So, if you want to know the salary of a professor or coach at Marshall University, you may request it. And you should.
If we have the right to do something, we should act on the right when we need to. These rights are availabe to us, so it is our responsibility to be aware of them and know how to take advantage of them.
Citizens of America have the right to know what their government is doing. How else would we know if something shady is going on? Students should know their rights and take advantage of them.
The information is there — grab it.
The rights are there — use them.

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