The unsigned editorial is the opinion of Technician’s editorial board and is the responsibility of the editors-in-chief.

At Technician, we take pride in our journalistic obligation to promote transparency and hold powerful people accountable at NC State, and North Carolina’s public records law, which grants the public a broad right of access to records of public business, plays a pivotal role in our pursuit of truth.

But Technician faces immense delays in receiving records that North Carolina’s public records law says are “the property of the people.” NC State’s public records request system is broken. 

Many other state public records laws specify a deadline for agencies to respond to public records requests: in Michigan, the deadline is five business days; in South Carolina, the deadline is 30. North Carolina’s public records law merely requires agencies to provide public records “as promptly as possible.” 

This vague language stems from a concern that not all public records requests are created equal; some requests require weeks of searching for responsive documents, while others may take just five minutes. But this ambiguity, while well-intended, can be exploited by agencies to leave the public in the dark for far too long. It can be an obstacle to transparency for all of us — particularly journalists who work to keep the community informed. 

NC State often takes months to fulfill public records requests. Technician is still waiting on responsive records for requests submitted in October 2023. Significant delays in providing public records hinder our capability to report timely news on issues that matter most to our community.

For example, NC State closed Poe Hall on Nov. 17 in response to environmental testing that indicated the presence of chemical contaminants in the building. It took the University over a month after the closure to release the preliminary test results cited as the reason for the closure to the media. 

And it’s not just Technician that encounters these delays. Other local outlets like NC Newsline and WRAL had to fight to see the initial Poe Hall test results released, and it’s thanks to these dogged efforts that the public is more informed about Poe Hall — albeit after weeks of silence.

Recently, it took NC State a whopping 101 business days to respond to a simple records request that asked for a list of public records requests submitted to NC State within a two-and-a-half-month span. The last time we requested a list of twice the size, it took NC State just 25 business days to provide it.

What’s more, the University has boldly issued a new automatic response to each public records request submitted through NextRequest, the portal it uses to manage requests.  

“The university makes every effort to provide records as promptly as possible, but is currently managing a large number of complex requests,” the response states. “Please be advised that most records requests will require three to six months to fulfill.” 

At this point, we at Technician could sooner traverse the Oregon Trail or board Noah’s ark and experience a biblical flood than receive public records from NC State. North Carolina courts have said an unreasonable delay in providing public records can be an effective denial. NC State must prioritize fulfilling records requests in a reasonable, timely manner. It’s a matter of public interest.

It’s easy to see why NC State is falling behind on public records requests. One person, University Records Officer Lynda Mottershead, is responsible for handling all public records requests. It seems the University has received an increased number of records requests in the past five years — in fiscal 2019, the Office of General Counsel reported over 200 records requests, whereas in the most recent fiscal year, it reported over 300 records requests.  

As much as we wish NC State could simply hire another records officer to help Mottershead from drowning in records requests, we acknowledge that might not be realistic. The University administration’s budgeted expenses for the current fiscal year leave about $26,000 in revenue left over, which isn’t enough to cover the salary and benefits of a new hire. 

There are other ways to alleviate Mottershead’s workload and make the public records request system at NC State more efficient, though. For one, NC State could follow the lead of other UNC System schools that use the same NextRequest system and make requests visible to the public, not just the requester. This could minimize repeat records requests. 

NC State could also make commonly requested records available to the public without a records request. UNC-Chapel Hill does this with its athletics contracts, including head coaching contracts and agreements with Nike and other partners. NC State could do the same by updating its dedicated Poe Hall information website with new environmental testing reports as it receives them. These records are the property of the people, so why not treat them like it?

In every interaction with Technician’s editorial board, Mottershead has been polite and professional, and we know many factors that make her job challenging are out of her control. But the University administration can do more to mend this broken process.  

This month, on Thursday, Feb. 22, we’ll celebrate Student Press Freedom Day, which is a national day created by the Student Press Law Center to celebrate the role of student journalists and advocate for press freedom. In the spirit of student press freedom, we urge NC State to reflect on how considerable delays in fulfilling public records requests impact Technician’s role as a watchdog on campus and the general public’s right to know.