Beware of Efforts To Curtail Requests

Tony McDonald, the author of "Beware of Efforts To Curtail Requests" written in the blog Empower Texans is a licensed and practicing attorney, as well as General Counsel to the blog Empower Texans. McDonald explains to Texans that 'Sunshine Week' had recently passed which is an initiative to remind Americans of the importance of government transparency. He argues that in order for the people to gain better control of the government, that all measures to set back transparency become dead on arrival. With that being said, bureaucrats and lobbyists whom are tax funded are complaining and do not believe in open record laws. These government officials actually believe there should be a charge to the Texas people, just to submit an open record request which is supposed to act as a form of deterrent to what these government officials like to call, "vexatious requestors." These type of requestors seem to be higher, especially when there might by controversial information that they are trying to bring to light. McDonald also goes on to explain that more questions are asked when the citizens feel that the government is being slow to answer requests. With this plan in action, the bureaucrats think that they might just outlast the requestors for months at a time, hoping that they will back off at some point. McDonald feels that transparency makes Texas government stronger, and that the requestors are doing a civic duty by caring to ask questions. He argues that we should work to clear obstacle, and not to create them. I believe that McDonald's argument is correct, and that we should all help out more to ask questions, whether they are annoying or not. There is no reason that government officials should be hiding any records from the people. Doing so creates a lot of distrust in the Texan people. I believe McDonald when he says that we could make Texas stronger with transparency.

Students Voice for Campus Carry isn't Influential

With open-carry laws being passed for Texas Universities, and being implemented August of 2016, there is much cause for concern. In the article "Students voice for campus carry isn't influential" published in The Shorthorn, a news source for UT at Arlington, questions whether or not the students' as well as staff members have any influential power at all over campus carry decisions. If any decision is going to be made, and implemented it rests on the shoulders of Vistasp Karbhari, the eighth President of the University of Texas at Arlington, as well as, the Board of Regents, or other governing boards. UT System Chancellor Bill McRaven sent a letter to Texas Legislators stating, "In light of all these concerns and apprehensions, I feel the presence of concealed weapons will make campus a less-safe environment." With Chancellor McRaven being solely against campus carry, he is wanting a majority, if not the whole campus, a "gun-free zone." Vistasp Karbhari went on to say, "I think the Chancellor speaks for all of us. That's the systems position." The author goes on to say that even if Karbhari was for campus carry, that it wouldn't matter much anyways since the UT System has a huge influence on UT Presidents. The UT Systems hierarchy is as follows, The Board of Regents, the Chancellor, and then the President. Even though the President is able to make decisions, his decisions can be overruled by the Chancellor, or the Board of Regents. And with the President not having a fixed term, who's job is subject to the Chancellors approval, he isn't even all that powerful in making decisions anyways. Either way the final say is given by the Board of Regents. This whole system is driven by people with power who don't even take in to consideration their student body opinions, or even the staff. It is a crazy system in which we live, where decisions are made by people who don't even consider the bigger picture.