klg
|
|
response 230 of 232:
| 
May 30 16:46 UTC 2003 |
What are they afraid of???
Thursday, May 29, 2003
U-M Hurts its Credibility by Hiding Research
Denial of Freedom of Information Act request for diversity study data
violates the spirit of disclosure law
By The Detroit News
The University of Michigan is hiding behind an obscure legal exception
to avoid complying with the Freedom of Information Act. It is an
unseemly position for a public institution of U-M's stature.
The university is refusing a FOIA request from an Ann Arbor-based free-
lance investigator to turn over the first few years of data used in a
report U-M contends proves diversity on campus produces important
educational benefits.
That contention is at the heart of U-M's defense of its affirmative
action admissions policies, now before the U.S. Supreme Court, which is
expected to hand down a ruling shortly.
To prove its point, U-M submitted as evidence a 10-year survey
conducted by Patricia Gurin, a psychology professor, showing that
racial diversity improved the educational experience for all U-M
students -- majority and minority alike.
But researcher Chetly Zarko contends that a recently discovered
executive summary prepared by the university contradicts the study's
final findings. He has asked for the data to prove his point.
The university defends its refusal on grounds that original data
gathered by researchers in the course of their scholarly work
constitutes intellectual property and is therefore exempt from FOIA
disclosures because of something called the Confidential Research
Information Act (CRIA).
The university's rationale, while technically correct, is nevertheless
dishonest and violates the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act,
which is designed to ensure public institutions operate in an open
manner report .
|
