After submitting a motion to intervene on the case of Hall vs. KU, Students for a Sustainable Future and the University came to an agreement that the student group would be recognized as a third party in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit — which stems from a record request that the student group made last fall — was filed by business school lecturer Art Hall against the University to prevent the release of records.
This decision will give SFASF access to court documents related to the lawsuit. There was originally a hearing set for the motion, but because the University and SFASF agreed to the terms, there was no need.
The student group stepped in to further their argument that because Art Hall, director of the Business school’s Center for Applied Economics, works at the University, his records are subject to the Kansas Open Records Act.
Hall, however, said he believes the use of the open records law in this case is a misuse of the law and the records request violates his First Amendment rights.
“In my discussions with attorneys, every one of them agrees that there is a lack of guidance in how the law should be applied here,” Hall said. “My lawsuit will allow a judge to provide guidance.”
In April of 2014, SFASF requested numerous documents, even paying $1,800 last fall to receive them. The current lawsuit arose with the part of the request that sought out any of Hall’s emails that mention specific organizations, dating back to 2004.
SFASF is particularly interested in the emails that mention Koch Industries or Koch family foundations. Schuyler Kraus, senior from Allen, Texas and president of SFASF, said the group is worried about Hall’s previous experience with the business and has concerns about Koch influence over Hall’s work at the University.
The Koch brothers gave a donation that established the Center for Applied Economics.
“There’s just a lot of coincidences surrounding the relationship with Koch and KU,” Kraus said.
Kraus said she wanted to make it clear that SFASF is only requesting access to these documents to find information regarding funding and conflicts of interest.
"Whether we agree with the particulars of any expressed opinions they contain is irrelevant,” Kraus said. “We have not and will not ever make our position on them part of the discussion.”
McKenzie Ortiz, a freshman from Wichita and member of SFASF, said she agrees with Kraus on the matter.
“The fact that Art Hall is suing KU is really ridiculous,” Ortiz said. “There shouldn’t be anything to hide between Hall and Koch. We don’t hate them because they are rich or successful; we are just cautious of the Koch brother’s ties to the University because we deserve a fair and unbiased education.”
This concern about a fair education was one of the main issues SFASF mentioned in the original request for Hall’s records.
“If our professors are in their positions because they were placed by outside donors to control the dissemination of knowledge, our ability to learn about the world and make decisions is endangered,” Kraus said.
Ortiz also said that it’s not even known whether or not there are corrupt ties, and the Kansas Open Records Act request was supposed to help determine that.
Kraus said she and SFASF have additional concerns about the Koch brothers’ involvement with politics.
“If you can purchase a place at a university just by donating funds, you can effectively gain access to academic credentials in order to legitimize a political agenda,” Kraus said.
— Edited by Mackenzie Clark
For additional info on the lawsuit, check out these stories.
Student group looks into Koch funding and influence at KU
Release of documents regarding Koch and business school relationship blocked by judge's ruling