Public Universities records requests (Indiana University Bloomington)

Public Records Request Form

From: IU Office of the VP and General Counsel (Public Records Request to Indiana University)
Delivered: Nov 07, 2023 | 01:02 AM

Form Entry Id: **2177312** Your form entry responses are below

Thank you for your request made under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act ('APRA' I.C. 5-14-3 et seq.).

**We ask that you please reference the Request Form Number on all correspondence with our office.**

Please note that APRA does not require the production of documents within seven days. Rather, APRA provides that the request will be deemed denied if the requester does not receive a response from the state agency within seven days. By way of this notice, we letting you know that the University will initiate a review of your request and relevant files in order to determine what records the University may have that are responsive to your request and must be disclosed under APRA. We will respond to your request once our review is complete.

Sincerely,

Office of the Vice President and General Counsel
Indiana University

Your Email Address:
Email Address: requests@muckrock.com

**Your Contact Information**
Your Name:: Caroline Haskins
Company Name:: N/A
Street Address:: MuckRock News, DEPT MR154076, 263 Huntington Ave
City:: Boston
State:: Massachusetts
Postal/Zip Code:: 02115
Country:: United States
Your Phone Number:: 6172991832

**Your Request**
RECORD(S) BEING REQUESTED::
Dear records officer,

Pursuant to Indiana Access to Public Records Act, kindly transmit the following records in electronic format on a rolling basis as they are cleared for release:

1) From October 8, 2023 to October 11, 2023: Any emails, including any attachments to said emails, to or from the following individuals...
a. The university Dean(s)
b. The university President
c. The university Chancellor(s)
d. The university Provost(s)
e. The director of university Communications
f. The director of university Alumni Affairs
...that mention any of the following terms:
—“Israel"
—“Gaza"
—“Hamas
—“Palestine"
—“Palestinian"
—"Students for Justice in Palestine"
—“SJP"
—“Chabad
—"Hillel”

If there are any questions about my request, can provide any clarification that will help expedite the processing of my request, please contact me at chaskins@insider.com. I am also happy to hop on the phone.

This FOI request is being filed in pursuit of a time-sensitive news story. Therefore, I ask that my request is expedited. When completing this request, please prioritize whichever records would take the least amount of time to be located and released. I would like these records in electronic format, sent via email or other digital method, and again, please release documents on a rolling basis, as they become available.

If you determine that any of the information qualifies for an exemption from disclosure, I ask you to note whether the exemption is discretionary, and if so whether it is necessary in this case to exercise your discretion to withhold the information. In any event, please provide a signed notification citing the legal authorities on which you rely if you determine that any of the information is exempt and will not be disclosed.

Also, I am a member of the news media as a reporter for Business Insider, and the requested documents are in the public interest and not being made for commercial purposes. Therefore, I ask that all fees are waived in the processing of my request. If fees associated with this request will be in excess of $25, kindly notify me in advance of fulfilling this request. As I am making this request as a journalist and this information is timely, I would appreciate your communicating with me if you have questions regarding this request.

Thanks again, and I look forward to your reply within 7 business days, as the statute requires, as the statute requires, and an even more prompt reply if you can make a determination without having to review the records in question.

Best,
Caroline Haskins

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/
Does your request include a list of names and addresses?: No

This e-mail was sent to requests@muckrock.com by Indiana University. Learn why we are including this: go.iu.edu/emailsafety

Greetings,

Indiana University is in receipt of your below public records request submitted pursuant to the Indiana Access to Public Records Act (APRA). In order for IU to begin processing your request, you will need to provide further information regarding the record(s) you are requesting. APRA requires that a request for inspection and/or copying must identify with reasonable particularity the record(s) being requested. I.C. 5-14-3-3(a)(1). The Indiana Court of Appeals has held that "[w]hether a request identifies with reasonable particularity the record being requested turns, in part, on whether the person making the request provides the agency with information that enables the agency to search for, locate and retrieve records." Jent v. Fort Wayne Police Dep't, 973 N.E.2d 30, 34 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012).

As currently written, your below request does not identify reasonably particular parameters that enable the University to "search for, locate and retrieve records." While the term "reasonable particularity" is not defined within APRA, I encourage you to read the many opinions of the Indiana Public Access Counselor, along with Anderson v. Huntington Cty. Bd. of Comm'rs, 983 N.E.2d 613 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013). Per this authority, you will see that requests for communications must identify, at a minimum, the following:

1. Named sender of the communication;
2. Named recipient of the communication;
3. Time frame of six months or less; and
4. a set of keyword(s)/search term(s).

Please note that, in order to meet APRA's reasonable particularity requirement, a request for communications should generally identify no more than 4-6 recipients/senders. See PAC Advisory Opinion 22-FC-42. Where a sender/recipient identified is not an IU employee, please provide their email address. Once sufficient information is provided, the University may begin to process your below request. Please know that if/when sufficient information is provided, requests of this nature can take a significant amount of time to process.

Office of the Vice President & General Counsel
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Confidentiality Notice: This message may contain information that is attorney-client privileged, attorney work product or otherwise confidential. If you are not an intended recipient, use and disclosure of this message are prohibited. If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete the message and any attachments.

Greetings,

Thank you for this additional information. To clarify, the University understands your updated request to be seeking emails (including attachments) sent between Pamela Whitten, Lamar Hylton, Rahul Shrivastsav, Nancy Patton, JT Forbes, and/or Micheal Huber from Oct. 8, 2023 until Oct. 11, 2023 which contain at least one of the following key term(s): -"Israel"
-"Gaza"
-"Hamas
-"Palestine"
-"Palestinian"
-"Students for Justice in Palestine"
-"SJP"
-"Chabad
-"Hillel"

If this is correct, the University will begin to process your request. Please note that requests of this nature can take a significant amount of time to process.

Best,

Office of the Vice President & General Counsel
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Confidentiality Notice: This message may contain information that is attorney-client privileged, attorney work product or otherwise confidential. If you are not an intended recipient, use and disclosure of this message are prohibited. If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete the message and any attachments.

That is correct. Thank you so much.

--

Katherine Long

Pronouns: she/her

Business <https://www.businessinsider.com> - Life
<https://www.insider.com/lifestyle> - News <https://www.insider.com/news>

Cell/Signal: (206)-375-9280

One Liberty Plaza, 8th FL, New York, NY 10006

Greetings,

The University is in receipt of your below referenced public records request. Once its review of your below public records request is complete, the University will respond to your request consistent with the requirements of the Indiana Access to Public Records Act.

Best,

Office of the Vice President & General Counsel
[cid:image001.png@01DA59AA.A2F1F810]
Confidentiality Notice: This message may contain information that is attorney-client privileged, attorney work product or otherwise confidential. If you are not an intended recipient, use and disclosure of this message are prohibited. If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete the message and any attachments.

Greetings,

The University is in receipt of your below public records request submitted pursuant to the Indiana Access to Public Records Act (APRA). Attached please find the record(s) responsive to your request. Please note that any record(s) and/or portion(s) of record(s) that are unresponsive to your request have been excluded from the production. Please also note that some information/record(s) has been withheld pursuant to I.C. 5-14-3-4(b)(6).

To seek additional comment in relation to the attached record(s), please contact Mark Bode, IU Executive Director of Media Relations.

The University now considers your request closed.

Zachary R. Griffin, Assistant General Counsel
Office of the Vice President & General Counsel
301 University Blvd, Rm 5030
Indianapolis, IN 46202
Phone: (317) 274-7445
Fax: (317) 274-7470
zrgriffi@iu.edu<mailto:zrgriffi@iu.edu>
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Confidentiality Notice: This message may contain information that is attorney-client privileged, attorney work product or otherwise confidential. If you are not an intended recipient, use and disclosure of this message are prohibited. If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete the message and any attachments.