The UOSA records policy might become more relaxed to accommodate the student body at large.

In response to The Daily’s story about the UOSA records, Nicholas Harrison, member of the Graduate Student Senate, sent Student Affairs Vice President Clarke Stroud an e-mail voicing his concerns over the “restrictive” UOSA records policy.

“If there is no free access to those records, regular students and even students participating in student government have no way to make informed judgments ... only a select people will know what is going on,” he said.

Harrison said when he tried to attain a copy of the previous Superior Court opinions to write an “amicus curiae” brief about the elections, he was directed to the university’s open records office.

“Before then I had no difficulty getting records from UOSA, but whenever they told me that I had to go to the university open records office, I knew I wouldn’t have gotten the information in time to have the brief in for the Superior Court hearing,” Harrison said.

In an e-mail conversation between Harrison and Stroud, Stroud said he would be “more than happy to work with UOSA to create a system that provides access to these kinds of documents.”

“The UOSA code has a very rigid timeline for appeals and hearings,” Harrison said. “If students have to go through the open records office, it will be difficult to impossible for them to meet those deadlines in time with educated arguments.”

Stroud was unavailable for comment.

Matt Gress, Student Congress representative, said Tuesday at the Student Congress meeting he plans on introducing legislation that would make documents pertaining to UOSA elections more readily available.

“I have to chuckle a little when I hear about open records requests flying to and fro to get access to low level student government documents,” he said. “I understand we are an arm of the state, but seriously, this is student government, we don’t have a monolithic bureaucracy.”

It’s unacceptable for the press and members of UOSA to have to file open records requests for student government documents, Gress said.

He said the current “red tape” is keeping the student body in the dark.

“With the CAC Election, one of the most visible student leadership positions on campus teetering on the brink of uncertainty, it is imperative that the student body be fully informed on the most current status regarding that race,” Gress said.

It isn’t right for the press or UOSA leaders to be denied “speedy access” to student government documents, Gress said.

Gress said he and other Student Congress representatives plan to meet with Student Affairs to devise a system that allows more transparency.

He said he plans to propose a plan that will automatically send all documents regarding UOSA Elections, court documents, executive proclamations, all election communications and Congress appropriations to The Daily without an open records request.

“We are not representatives of Student Affairs,” Gress said. “We never have been and we never will be.”

UOSA passes bill approving budget

UOSA Student Congress passed a bill Tuesday night allocating more than $200,000 to 166 student organizations for next year’s budget. Kurt Davidson, Undergraduate Student Congress chairman, also swore the 82nd Student Congress into office.

Nominations for next year’s Student Congress chairman, vice chairman and secretary also were made. Current Undergraduate Student Congress Secretary Brittany Pritchett was nominated for secretary again; Matt Gress, social sciences representative, was nominated for vice chairman and John Jennings, current Undergraduate Student Congress vice chairman, and Forrest Bennett, a University College representative, were nominated for chairman.