A correction was added to this article April 13.

Because of reporting and editing errors, the April 12 article “Presentation will discuss First Amendment rights” incorrectly indicated that a Feb. 4 Iowa Supreme Court opinion determined that the ISU Foundation is a government agency. The court ruled that the Foundation performs a government function and is subject to state open-records law, but it did not say the Foundation is a governmental agency. The Daily regrets this error.

The First Amendment right of petition will be discussed Tuesday by two Iowa residents who won a lawsuit against the ISU Foundation for open records violations.

As part of First Amendment Days, Mark Gannon, Ames real estate agent and former land manager for the ISU College of Agriculture, and Arlen Nichols, a retired Des Moines businessman, are scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union about using the right of petition to begin a process ending in a successful lawsuit against the Foundation.

Gannon and Nichols will be accompanied by two other groups of presenters. The first is the “Cass County Seven,” a group of individuals who petitioned to get their sheriff and county attorney removed after the officials had received bribes for giving out reduced traffic charges. The other is Henry Alliger, Government of the Student Body speaker of the senate, who was involved in the petition to reduce City Council terms.

“Although I didn’t see it this way at the time, this is kind of a ‘David and Goliath’ story,” Gannon said. “We stood up in the face of scrutiny.”

He said he filed a suit against the Foundation in 2002 after the university sold a donated farm against the wishes of owner Marie Powers.

Gannon said he asked for the details of the sale from the foundation but was turned down. He then filed a lawsuit against the Foundation under the Iowa Open Records Act with co-plaintiff Nichols.

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled in Gannon’s and Nichols’ favor Feb. 4. According to the ruling, the Foundation is a government agency and must obey open records laws.

Mark Witherspoon, lecturer of journalism and mass communication and one of the organizers of First Amendment Days, said he looks forward to Gannon and Nichols’ presentation.

“What you have here is a wonderful array of how people have used their freedom to petition,” said Witherspoon, Daily adviser. “This is a forgotten freedom, but these people are taking advantage of their First Amendment rights.”

He said he expects lively and interactive discussion about the right to petition.

Kathleen Richardson, executive secretary of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, said Gannon and Nichols’ story is a classic case of the importance of the First Amendment.

“This is a perfect example of people using their rights to get the kind of tools to find out what the government is doing,” Richardson said.

She encouraged citizens to attend government meetings and examine public documents to increase accountability within the government.

First Amendment Days is a week long celebration with a day dedicated to each freedom the amendment guarantees. Although it is in its third year, the celebration was previously only a single day and has been extended after an $80,000 donation from Lee Enterprises, the fourth-largest newspaper company in the country.