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Extra Credit. FOIA....

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Brittany Preston CMJ 325 FOIA Fest Response

FOIA Fest was an absolute success for me. I really enjoyed being given a free lunch and shirt. I also had a great time getting to talk to everyone at their tables and getting to take home more free things. I was also able to sit down with Pete Walsh and listen to his perspective on FOIA. He was really interesting because he has a background as a Lawyer, and he had a lot to say about how knowing the law makes submitting a FOIA request easier. However, the most beneficial part was getting to sit in on the interview with Marisa Kwiatkowski and hear her speak. I was also able to meet her in person after interviewing her twice via email for a story I am currently working on. After speaking with Marisa, I spoke with Matt Kauffman and he helped me figure out how to incorporate all of my data about financial aid into my story. He suggested actually using a graph to show all of the numbers and information I had for my story. FOIA Fest was a great experience however, I wish they had a better way of scheduling the events. In the handout they gave us at check-in, I found it difficult to know where which speakers were and what time they would be speaking. The only one I really knew about was Marisa Kwiatkowski because she was specifically mentioned to us in class, but I didn’t know of any of the other ones. I also think it would have been more beneficial to have an event that helps you create a FOIA request from scratch rather that a workshop that helped us work on one that we already had created or had an idea for. For example, there was a boy who attended FOIA Fest and considering he was 12 I am assuming he has never made a FOIA request before. I think it

would have been beneficial for him and others who have never made a FOIA request before to have a workshop for specifically on how to create one from scratch. Otherwise, FOIA Fest was a phenomenal experience and I can’t wait to go again next year....