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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1976)
Researchers criticize safeguards group setup By PAUL WILLIAMSON Of the Emerald Strict new guidelines aimed at protecting persons involved in federally funded research projects are ruffling some feathers among University researchers. Under guidelines established by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW), all projects involving human subjects must be approved by a University-based Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS). Last March, HEW strengthened the safeguards re quired for experiments which in volve some risk to human sub jects. “The committee is not set up to disapprove projects,” says Fred Wilhelm, assistant dean of the graduate school and coordinator for the CPHS. "But sometimes we have to negotiate with the princi ple investigator on specific points, usually relating to the confidential ity of information gathered from subjects.” Although objections have not been leveled at the committee in principle, some professors have mm 1225 Alder 345-2628 Just off Campus Live Music Wednesday and Friday Nights 9-Midnight All sandwiches are available on vour choice of bread. Enjoy all sorts of sandwiches: Salami Capit ol la Prosciutto Coi ned Beef Past rami Picnic* Ham Provolone Cheese and other favorites Happy Hour Wed. & Fri. 65e Pitchers Schlitz Beer on draft 35c glass & 85c pitchers University of Oregon BOOKSTORE, me. 895 East 13th Ave«Mon-Fri 8:15-5:00. Sat 9-1 00«Phone 686-433 COULD YOU MANAGE A SHOPPING CENTER . . . IN NAPLES? Could you supervise a major computer center • in Hawaii? How about supplying a ship carrying four thousand men on a world cruise? You could do all this, and more, with Navy training as a Navy Supply Corps Officer. 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Greenwood also criticizes the lack of continuity in the committee's review process. "Sometimes, when I am renew ing an annual grant proposal that passed through the committee the year before, I find some new committee member that wants the whole thing explained over again,” he says. The annual turnover rate among committee members is about 25 per cent, according to Wilhelm. Many professors say they would like to see a clearer distinc tion made in identifying accepta ble and extreme risks but Joan Acker, a sociology professor, says the individual ethics of research ers will supply the necessary safeguards. "Only in extreme cases of physical or psychological risk should the committee step in," she says. Wilhelm also believes there should be no concrete checklist outlining acceptable risks. ‘‘The diversity of the experiments we review make such an idea impos sible. We have to generalize to be thorough," he says. Some members of the commit tee favor expanding its authority under the assumption that all pro jects involving research or ex perimentation should be re viewed. They are currently con sidering having community ser vice and public affairs trainees submit a consent form to everyone they work with in coun seling situations. The forms would outline the possible risks caused by the trainees’ non-professional status. But this proposal has drawn an answer from Anita Runyan, a Community Service and Public Af fairs director, who points out that graduate students are not re quired to hand out consent forms even though they have a non professional status. Although the new guidelines have been criticized by research ers most do not think the com mittee should be discontinued. Lichtenstein says the mere pres ence of the committee has made researchers more honest in con sidering risks to human subjects involved in their projects. “A greater proportion of the proposals now have adequate safeguards built in before they go before the committee,” he says. Ironically, the committee mem bers recently have had to take the role of the human subject them selves A group of sociology graduate students are conducting research of the committee's im pact on social and behavioral sci ence research. But before they began, they secured consent forms from all the committee members. Oliver (Continued from Page 1) early childhood education. “I had just come out of a poor marriage and was ready to be something on my own," Oliver ex plains. "Going back to school gave me a tangible indepen dence, something I could hold on to "If you look at my life, there s been a restlessness that's moved with me. It was that same restlessness, that desire to be moving onand doing something new’ that brought me here.” Psychology was a logical choice for a major, Oliver says. “I had a lot of whys.' At the time psychology seemed to have some of the answers “But it was more than that. I got involved in art because it was a very human, creative extension of who I was. I got involved in psychology because it seemed to complement that.” Oliver s interests next turned toward student government. She quickly became involved in the Child Care and Development Center — as a parent and steering board member and then as a teacher for a year. She began working with minority interests as associate director of the Black Cultureal Center (prior to its clos ure last August( and then was elected to a seat on the Incidental Fee Committee last fall. "I got involved with ASUO stu dent politics because — like art and psychology — it gave me a chance to participate with my sur roundings. My focus continued to be human interest." Running for ASUO president, a race she won last week with a nearly two to one margin over vice-president Jim Davis, was a further extension of this concern “I felt it was time for a woman, a mother, a black and a person who s been through as many pit falls as anyone, to bring special qualities to student government But the 27-year-old mother doesn't think politics will take over her life. "I’ve never done only one thing at a time. I do several things at once, incorporating them into my life without letting them take over.” Still interested in the art into which she sunk ten to fifteen years of her life, Oliver plans to return to the field eventually. Skilled in non-objective drawings, she hopes to set up her own commer cial art business in fabrics. "But I have lots of dreams, lots of pictures in my mind that I plan to make come true I plan to just sim ply keep myself happy — to do everything I want to " One of those dreams is "travel ing around the world twelve times, but Oliver says she II have to wait until her children — Jesse, age 7, Khi," 5, and Kalisha. 3 — are old enough to go along "I've always tried to incorporate my kids needs with what I wanted to do so that we could fulfill their needs and desires as well as mine We understand each other well." : : I ► I I I The new ASUO president-elect says her active life-style poses no real problem in raising her chil dren "Ive always believed in cooperative, extended family lifes tyle. All of the children have differ ent godparentswho they can call on if I'm unable to be there I ve always encouraged them to be in dependent and I think they ap preciate that. "Were a very close family," Oliver explains as Kalisha returns to cuddle up close. "I think of my kids as being humans in a little package. I have an incredible re spect and appreciation for them and they return that same respect to me.” Eadiao Tum-FIv* *15 Fat 7:30 Five Easy Pieces a Iso-Fat City
