Are we safer in the dark?

This was the title question posed at a forum on freedom of government information at the Manhattan Public Library last night.

Sponsored by the Kansas Humanities Council and the KSU Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy, the forum is the first in a series, titled "Democracy Dialogues 2006," to take place throughout Kansas in the next month. Last night's forum was designed to gauge public opinion on the availability of government documents and decreasing privacy in the modern technological era.

A group of about 15 people from Manhattan and the surrounding area attended the forum, including Manhattan Mayor Bruce Snead and Riley County Police Director Mike Watson.

Donna Schenck-Hamlin, ICDD associate and assistant to the Dean of KSU Libraries for Grants and Special Projects, acted as the facilitator for the discussion, beginning with a 20-minute clip from a recent teleconference on the federal Freedom of Information Act.

The clip showed three stories pulled from local news stations around the country. The first showed the story of a New Orleans reporter who, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, requested government information on chemicals that might have leaked into the floodwaters. He wasn't provided the information until months later.

The second talked about a school district that refused to release information regarding the criminal records of district volunteers. The final clip was about the construction of a natural gas pipeline in a small Pennsylvania town. The route of the pipeline was protected information during construction, causing the town's citizens to worry that the pipeline would run through their backyards. After the tape ended, the group discussion began.

Snead explained some of the difficulties citizens can face when trying to access government records.

"With a lot of government employees, they may know the specific information you want to know, but they won't tell you unless you ask for a specific document," he said.

Snead also talked about how some private documents can become public record.

"For instance, if I refer to a document in a City Commission meeting, it becomes public record," Snead said. "Even if no one else has seen it, it becomes accessible."

Watson commented on the extreme openness of public records in Florida.

"We have to be careful when sending information about investigations to Florida, because even things like active investigations are public record down there," Watson said. "If you were a drug dealer in Florida, you could go into the police station and find out if you were under investigation.

"The question becomes, 'What degree of gray do we want?' Because nobody wants it all one way or the other."

Jessica Boeckman, resident of northern Riley County, attended the forum with her 15-year-old son as part of his community involvement requirement for 4-H.

"We all want to know a little about our neighbors, whether they're dangerous, what secrets they're keeping, but we also want to protect ourselves and our information," Boeckman said. "We have to give up some privacy, but where do you draw the line?"