RUSA Meeting Minutes/Recordings
Charlie Kratovil made this OPRA request to Rutgers University This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.
Dear Rutgers University,
Under OPRA and the common law right of access, please provide copies of the minutes and/or recordings for each Rutgers University Student Assembly meeting held since March 1, 2020.
Yours faithfully,
Charlie Kratovil
Dear Charlie Kratovil,
Thank you for registering with Rutgers, The State University of New
Jersey Open Public Records Center, an online, public portal. Below you
will find your portal login and password information .
Login: [OPRA #40603 email]
If you have never used this system or cannot remember your password, you
may request a [1]Temporary Password
If you are a first time user and did not submit your request through the
public portal but are receiving this e-mail, an account has been created
for you with the login and password listed above. At this account you can
access, track and receive any documents in response to your request.
Please log in to the [2]Rutgers University Open Public Records Center and
then "My Request Center" to update any contact or password information on
your account and to view your request.
The University Custodian of Records will contact you if there are
questions regarding your request or provide you a response. If you have
questions, you may contact the OPRA Administrator at 973.972.1887.
Thank you again for registering with the Rutgers University Open Public
Records Center.
This is an auto-generated email and has originated from an [3]GovQA
unmonitored email account. Please DO NOT REPLY. logo
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Dear Kratovil:
Thank you for submitting your request for government records of Rutgers,
The State University of New Jersey. Your request has been received and is
being processed in accordance with the New Jersey Open Public Records Act
(OPRA), NJSA 47:1 et seq. Your request was received through the online,
public portal [1]Rutgers University Open Public Records Center of this
office on 3/3/2023 and given the reference number R007876-030323.
Your request will be forwarded to the Office of the Custodian of
Records for review and processing, including determining the volume of
responsive documents and any potential costs associated with satisfying
your request. Please note, the N.J. Open Public Records Act does not
require the University to create new documents, to conduct research, or to
answer questions for information.
Records Requested: Dear Rutgers University, Under OPRA and the common law
right of access, please provide copies of the minutes and/or recordings
for each Rutgers University Student Assembly meeting held since March 1,
2020. Yours faithfully, Charlie Kratovil
The Office of the Custodian of Records uses the [2]Rutgers University Open
Public Records Center to communicate with you, respond to and track all
open public records requests. If you have submitted your request
electronically through Rutgers Open Public Records Center portal, you have
already been required to create an account.
Notice to First Time Portal Users:
If you are a first time user and did not submit your request through the
public portal, you are receiving this request because the Rutgers Office
of the Custodian has created an account for you at the [3]Rutgers
University Open Public Records Center .
To access your account and view your request:
1.Go to: [4]Rutgers University Open Public Records Center.
2. Select/open "My Records Center"
3. Enter your email and password as provided in your previously received
Welcome Letter.
You can monitor your request through the [5]Rutgers University Open Public
Records Center at "My Request Center."
Thank you and if you have questions, you may contact the OPRA
Administrator at (973) 972-1981.
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
University Custodian of Records
Office of Enterprise Risk Management, Ethics and Compliance
65 Bergen Street, Ste. 1346
Newark, New Jersey 07101-1709
Phone: (973) 972-1981
Fax: (973) 972-2396
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--- Please respond above this line ---
Reference: Rutgers Open Public Records Request, # R007876-030323
Dear Kratovil,
Please accept this letter as the University Custodian of Records response
to your request for records pursuant to the Open Public Records Act
(“OPRA”). On March 03, 2023, this office received your request for the
following:
“Dear Rutgers University,
Under OPRA and the common law right of access, please provide copies of
the minutes and/or recordings for each Rutgers University Student Assembly
meeting held since March 1, 2020.
Yours faithfully,
Charlie Kratovil”
The University has reviewed your request and determined that the records
requested above are denied because they are not University Records. You
may make your request for Rutgers University Student Assembly records
directly.
If your request has been denied, you may take your appeal to the New
Jersey Government Records Council (NJGRC), which has mediation and dispute
resolution procedures, or you may file a lawsuit with the New Jersey
Superior Court, as provided by N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1, et seq. Your rights of
appeal is provided with this letter at [1]Public Facing Pages of the
Rutgers University Open Public Records Request Center. You may also review
the brochure at the [2]Rutgers Custodian of Records page or visit the
[3]NJGRC page.
If you have any questions, please contact my office at 973.972.1981.
Sincerely,
Casey Woods
Director of Ethics and Public Records
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
973.972.1887
To monitor the progress or update this request please log into the [4]Open
Public Records Center.
References
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Dear Mr. Woods,
Thank you for your response. I'll note that the website that you referred me to to fulfill my request indicates the following: "All minutes available upon request via email to the Secretary, please send requests to [email address]"
Pursuant to this, I emailed that address on January 20, requesting minutes and recordings of the meetings, and followed up on January 24, January 27, February 1, and February 7. I also sent a text message to the Secretary on February 7. To date, no response of any kind has been provided.
On what facts or policies are you basing your decision that the records in question are not University Records? Is the Rutgers University Student Assembly not part of Rutgers University? Is it incorporated separately or does it exist as part of the university's governance structure like the University Senate?
Does RUSA not use funds, facilities, staff, and other resources from the university? Are there not assigned university staff "advisors" and/or computer systems hosted by the university that maintain RUSA records?
Respectfully, given the lack of any response from the RUSA Secretary, the university's response to my request under OPRA has been deficient. Even if you somehow do not find that the records are "OPRA-able," an analysis of the common law right of access factors would lead any reasonable person to conclude the records ought to be released pursuant to my request.
Notably, your initial response to my request did not cite any balancing of factors under common law. To aid your analysis, I submit the following: I am a university alumnus who served on the Rutgers College Governing Association (RCGA), a predecessor organization to RUSA. I have a degree in journalism and media studies, and currently work as the Editor of New Brunswick Today. This news outlet diligently works to hold all levels of government accountable and has discovered serious dysfunction within the RUSA. As you likely know, meeting minutes and recordings of public meetings are definitively public records without exception.
Indeed, it is hard to think of a more quintessentially public record than the official record of a public meeting.
Further, the university is the host of the rusa.rutgers.edu website that directs the public to request minutes via an email address that apparently does not respond to any requests. Considering the fact that your office has now referred me to this very same university website and suggested I make my request there, while the website still directs visitors to the non-responsive RUSA Secretary email address, this is non-transparent and anti-democratic on a very fundamental level for which the university ought to be embarrassed. I trust that you were not aware that the RUSA Secretary would not be responsive, but in light of the above stated facts, I must forcefully state that this situation is unacceptable, urge you to reconsider your denial of my request filed pursuant to both the OPRA and the common law right of access, and provide the requested records.
Yours sincerely,
Charlie Kratovil
--- Please respond above this line ---
Reference: Rutgers Open Public Records Request # R007876-030323
Dear Kratovil,
Please accept this letter as the University Custodian of Records response
to your message from March 12.
The University has reviewed your request and determined that the records
requested are not Rutgers University records. The RUSA is a separate
student government entity and their records are not Rutgers University
records for the purposes of OPRA or the common law. Therefore, no
responsive University records exist. OPRA provides access to existing,
identifiable records. N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1. Because records responsive to
your request do not exist, your request is denied.
If your request has been denied, you may take your appeal to the New
Jersey Government Records Council (NJGRC), which has mediation and dispute
resolution procedures, or you may file a lawsuit with the New Jersey
Superior Court, as provided by N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1, et seq. Your rights of
appeal is provided with this letter at [1]Public Facing Pages of the
Rutgers University Open Public Records Request Center. You may also review
the brochure at the [2]Rutgers Custodian of Records page or visit the
[3]NJGRC page.
If you have any questions, please contact my office at 973.972.1981.
Sincerely,
Casey Woods
Director of Ethics and Public Records
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
973.972.1887
To monitor the progress or update this request please log into the [4]Open
Public Records Center.
References
Visible links
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2. https://u8387795.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/clic...
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