A former UF student filed a lawsuit against the university Tuesday, alleging Student Government employees broke the law when they denied him access to audio and video recordings of Student Senate meetings.
Frank Bracco, who was a student senator in the summer of 2008 and served as Chomp the Vote executive director, alleged in the suit that UF denied him copies of records in three instances and was unable to provide them in two other instances because the records had been destroyed in violation of Florida's public records laws.
Bracco, who graduated in May, seeks copies of the records and repayment of attorney's fees and costs.
According to the complaint, in November, Bracco requested the audio and video of a Student Senate meeting and was told about a month later that his request was denied because the records would be available online by the end of February.
"Because the public will have access to these meetings in a reasonable amount of time, I do not feel this decision hinders your ability to access information from Senate meetings," wrote Center for Student Activities and Involvement Director Nancy Chrystal-Green in an e-mail to Bracco, according to the suit.
But February came and went with none of the requested records posted online, Bracco alleges.
Bracco then renewed his request for the records and made a new request in June, to which UF responded that he could view and listen to the records in the SG office, according to the suit.
However, the suit states the request was for copies and not merely the right to inspect the materials. After many months of e-mails and conversations, the records have yet to be released, Bracco alleged.
In two other cases, the records Bracco requested were inadvertently destroyed, according to the suit.
"I've wasted 10 months of my life trying to get this, and I can't get it," Bracco said in a phone interview.
"My experience is not unlike what others have experienced when dealing with the UF, especially Student Government," Bracco said in a news release, "but I want to ensure others have the right to access public documents in order to promote transparency and accountability."
Bracco also alleged in the release that attempts to get Student Body President Jordan Johnson to intervene on his behalf were ignored.
A phone call requesting comment from the SG office was not returned Tuesday.
Eric Conrad, SG press secretary, declined comment until he could gather more information about the suit.
