For the first time this school year, an open records request — a request to view public records such as minutes, files and accounts — was issued to UND Student Government.

The request was made in the beginning of November by an anonymous student on behalf of several students.

The request was for emails between members of the Student Government executive team for the month of October, along with any correspondence between the executive members and the State Higher Board of Education.

“We felt confident they would find no wrongdoing or anything inappropriate,” Student Body President Nick Creamer said.

This was the first time Creamer had gone through the open records request process, and he said he spoke to NDSU Student Body President Robbie Lauf for direction. Lauf has gone through the process several times during his in Student Government career.

All state employees in North Dakota are subject to the state’s open records laws, and as employees of the UND institution, members of student government must also comply with state laws. The open record laws require government records and meetings to be open to the public upon request. The only exception is if a specific statute requires a record or meeting to be closed.

Creamer said it has been about a month and a half since he has heard anything about the request, leading him to believe the records showed no wrongdoing by executives.

Creamer said once the request was made, it was sent through a chain of command and up to legal counsel at UND. The records requested were stored on a state computer server and were accessed and copied and then given to the student who made the request.

Megan Hoffman is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected].