Monday is Freedom of Information Day and Raymond Perez -- a third-year student at Yale Law School -- says "nothing could be more important".

"At the Yale Law School's Media Freedom & Information Access Clinic, where I'm a volunteer, we help journalists and ordinary people get the access to government records that they're guaranteed under the law," he said.

"We're the first country to have a freedom of information law, and it recognizes that the public has the right to records. We the people own our government, and so we have the right to records the government produces," Perez said.

Perez says the annual observance highlights the importance of the Freedom of Information Act, which came to be in 1966.

"Freedom of information is super important for democracy because if you don't know what the government is doing, you can't adequately respond to what the government is doing. During wartime, during times of crisis, it becomes even more important. We ensure that the government isn't hiding records or redacting things they shouldn't be redacting," Perez said.

Perez said Freedom of Information Day is held on March 16th to coincide with the birthday of James Madison.

The 4th U.S. President was a primary advocate for open government & individual rights, Perez said.