Elon University students have teamed up with fifth-graders at Elon Elementary School to produce a 30-minute educational video about North Carolina’s Sunshine Laws, which guarantee public access to government documents and meetings. The video has been mailed to elementary schools in Alamance County as part of the national celebration of Sunshine Week, March 13-17. The video will also be shown at the N.C. Open Government Coalition meeting in Raleigh March 13.
The video includes university and elementary school students interviewing former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee about his use of Sunshine Laws throughout his career, particularly during the Watergate scandal.
North Carolina has two laws protecting citizens’ access to public documents and requiring public officials to hold open meetings. The video also includes an interview with Tom Boney, publisher of the Alamance News, who made national headlines when he won a lawsuit against the city of Burlington, N.C., over a closed meeting.
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