EDITORIALS

From the Editor's Desk: Former Post editor-in-chief Wesley Lowery arrested while reporting in Ferguson

Editorial: Semester's final 'Post' presents: General Fee breakdown graphic

It’s finally the last week of classes, which means today is the last day you’ll see The Post in print for a while.

Editorial: Senate needs new executive oath, but proposed one isn't it

In the first of what we’re sure will be many disruptions to the way Student Senate usually does things, President-elect Megan Marzec asked current senate President Anna Morton if she could be sworn in under a revised executive oath.

Editorial: Now is the time to disrupt status quo

We kick off the first day of our last week of newspapers for the semester with a front-page story about another potential tuition increase. The Budget Planning Council recommended to Ohio University President Roderick McDavis that the tuition rate get bumped up 1.5 percent to about $10,535 per year for an Athens campus undergrad. McDavis will probably agree with the BPC, as he usually does, and take the motion to the Board of Trustees for a vote. Normally, the meeting when the trustees vote on tuition takes place before the end of the semester, but this time the board decided to push that meeting back to June and moved it to St. Clairsville. By then, most students will be out of the loop and, most likely, unable to attend.

From the editor's desk: This week: Election, Aiding Athens series and a faulty website

Waddup, compatriots?

'The Post' endorses 2014 Student Senate executive candidates

INTRODUCTION

Editorial: 'Post' regretfully cancels Student Senate debate

We lost our debate, but we can’t find the logic behind the rule that forced its cancellation.

Editorial: Aiding Athens series returns with 5 new nonprofit profiles

The front pages of The Post are going to look a bit unusual this week.

Editorial: This is the year to raise voter turnout in senate election

One more week, Bobcats. That’s how long you have to get informed about the three tickets running for Student Senate before the election next Thursday, April 17. So if none of the debating, tabling, tweeting and letter-writing has snagged your attention before today, there’s still time.

Student-athlete profiles refocus sports perspective

Editorial: With one spot filled, another opens up

New student trustee chosen

Editorial: Balanced discussion is a sign of progress on a tough subject

Tonight, a crowd of people will march through Athens as part of the Take Back The Night demonstration, and for the first time since the early 2000s, men will be permitted to walk alongside women.

Editorial: Players would suffer if Christian switches

Reports have surfaced over the last 48 hours that Ohio men’s basketball coach Jim Christian is in the running for the same position at Boston College.

Editorial: Meeting with President E. Gordon Gee should have been public

Ohio University played host to former Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee and other big names for a discussion about rising higher-education costs.

Editorial: A note about sports, a suggestion about moving spring break

Swimming & diving

Editorial: Cons outweigh pros of hosting CIT games

Good news, everyone: The Ohio men’s basketball team has advanced to the “elite eight” of the Collegeinsider.com Tournament, continuing to compete alongside the few NCAA teams still playing this late into March.

Editorial: 'Social host' rule wouldn't prevent underage drinking

Graduate Student Senate President Joel Newby announced last week that local law enforcement officials are considering asking Athens City Council to enact a “social host” ordinance. Basically, that would permit law enforcement to arrest a person of legal drinking age who “negligently” allows an underage person to have or consume alcohol at his or her home.

Week nine brings wrestling tournaments, negligence of the basketball team and amped up fest security

’Sup, amigos.

Want to obtain public Ohio documents? Here are some tips

We promised yesterday that after a week’s worth of pontification about Sunshine Week and open-records laws we would run you through what it takes to obtain public documents on your own.Well, here goes.First, know who you should be talking to. Begin with identifying the proper government department or entity that would have the document. Remember, the state government can only give you documents that exist. Sending your request to the Statehouse or university without a sense of whose desk it should land on probably won’t produce great results, if any.Calling and asking for the records is probably a great place to start, especially if your request is relatively routine. At Ohio University, you’ll likely call one of the university spokespeople or a Legal Affairs employee.In Ohio, a records request need not be written. You can request public documents verbally — either in person or by phone — and sending a written request right off the bat can sometimes be seen as adversarial. So start with a phone call or visit. But if your inquiry is large or complex, be prepared for the person on the other end to ask you to send in a written version.How do you write a proper records request? You start by finding a fancy letterhead. No public-records request looks complete without that. We use the Post flag that runs across the top of our newspaper, but don’t worry if you can’t come up with something official — it’s not actually a requirement.If fancy isn’t your flavor, there are a number of generic forms you can find online if you search for “Ohio public records request form.”Begin by addressing the request to the proper official. We address our university public-records requests to John Biancamano, interim director of Legal Affairs, and Pam Dailey, a Legal Affairs administrative associate.Do your best to clearly summarize the information you’re looking for, ensuring that your request isn’t “overly broad,” which is a common refrain for organizations that would rather not respond to requests.(Officials are legally required to give an explanation citing the specific law if your request is rejected or returned with blacked-out information. Don’t be afraid to ask.)Obtaining hard copies of public documents might cost you money, and there is no legal standard other than “prompt” or “reasonable” for how quickly Ohio government organizations must respond to requests.When you file a request, keep in mind that you are not required by law to give any sort of reason for wanting the records. If you just want a giant stack of papers to put on your desk to make you look important, well, in the eyes of the law, that’s just fine.Also remember that you’re allowed to request the files in whatever form they are kept, meaning if the data are compiled in Excel spreadsheets, you can ask for those digital files. You don’t have to settle for a printout. That’s a quick and dirty overview of requesting public records in Ohio. It probably sounds much more daunting than it actually is. If you want more specifics or have questions, there are a number of online resources (our favorite is the nifty Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press’ Open Government Guide, which you can find at rcfp.org) and we are always willing to help out.We appreciate you checking back here during the past several days for our series of Sunshine Week editorials. Open records are important to us, and we strive to integrate them into our coverage the best we can.As we wrote yesterday, we have a story that breaks down Ohio University’s General Fee allocation on the way soon, so keep an eye on our upcoming front pages for a good example of how we use public records to report stories that are important to you.

Records reporting generates some of our juiciest stories

We promised at the beginning of Sunshine Week to write about some of our successes with records requests as well as our struggles. In fact, some of our most impactful reporting in recent memory has been fueled by public records. Here are some of the highlights: