STUDENT ORGANIZATION MOVES FORWARD WITH LAWSUIT AGAINST SCHOOL
By Alexander Shedd, Assistant News Editor
Transparent GMU, a student organization that “aims to shed light on the on the potential undue influence of GMU donors,” is moving forward with a lawsuit against the university administration and the GMU Foundation, a private corporation created by the school to handle donation money.
The students of Transparent GMU have campaigned for several years now to uncover documents related to large donations made to the school. These donations primarily come from the Charles Koch Foundation.
Transparent GMU believes that these documents are being withheld from the public. The group hopes to gain access to these documents under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, which states that documents related to public entities are public record.
Their requests to see these documents, which include grants, donor agreements, and email correspondence, have been repeatedly denied by the school and the foundation for three years.
With the aid of Appalachian Mountain Advocates, a law firm based in Richmond, Transparent GMU began oral arguments for their lawsuit on September 22nd, and will continue the arguments on Thursday, Oct. 26. Their attorney, Evan Johns, is representing the group pro bono in their case against the school.
