In 2014, a student-led campaign called Transparent GMU was launched to raise concerns about Mason’s close relationship to the Charles Koch Foundation and advocate for the disclosure of the university’s agreements with private donors.

Students filed their first Freedom of Information Act request that year, seeking grant and gift agreements between the university and CKF. They were told that the documents were controlled by the GMU Foundation, which claimed to be exempt from FOIA.

In response, students launched a grassroots campaign asking for the university to release the documents. For over two years their requests went ignored despite having collected signatures from alumni, students, faculty and other concerned community members.