ality and protection
uman subjects committee: eyes on projects by Pq1hp CZBfJ.III Any student who IS work1ng on an lOP or using other persons as test subjects . II f' d h'1mseIf prOJflCt ~ust eventua Y • m the scrutmy of the Committee for the of. Human Subjects: Commattee consists of e1ght faculty ers and one student. Three also. act as o~tsi~e consultants committee, Which IS chaired by r Thomas Shannon of the -..,.,1 '"~ Department. The purpose of is focused around two basic
The sec?nd and major duty for the comm1ttee IS to assure that the rights of people used as test subjects at W.P.I. in . qua rty· 1 mg proJects or other areas are protected For example, if a project tnvolved the use of questionnaires to assess facts or opinions from members of the student body, the project initiators would be required to submit information pertaining to the extent of their project research to the committee by means of a special form. This form would enable the committee to assess whether such rights 85 privacy and anonymity are preserved for the test subjects. The preface to the form entitled "Guidelines and Application for Research or Project Activity Reviews," specif1C8IIy outlines the type of research suspect to committee consideration: "This (the type of research) includes biological or
~hysicologtcal or socialogical research that
either invasive or non-invasive in nature or uses tissues. organs blood or othe; human fluids for testing• or analysis. This also includes research that uses identifiable records or human beings." The form requires that the researcher supply information on the type of testing involved, the type and use of data in the experiment. the risk factors involved, the protective measures to be used, and fTnaffy a brief abstract of the project. An actual example of the committee's dealings may be taken from the activities of the freshman seminar course. When It was decided to do a psychological profile study of volunteers in the class as part of a study conducted by a visiting p~chologist who is interested in provlling engineering students, Professor Charles Heventhal who was responsible for the implementation of the study was required to obtain the committee's approval in order to assure IS
that the results Involved were kept con· fldent1al ( M th' t els-··he're . otrh~ on ) IS s ory appears tn IS ISSue • Us1ng the information provided by the form, the committee will take action to approve or deny the project. In many in· stances, the committee may make a conditional approval of the project, provided that the initiator comply with certain suggestions or revisions in the project. The committee is currently engaged in publicizing its existence to faculty mem· bers. A set of guidelines is being drawn up for circulation. This will ensure that professors S81VIng as advisors to students on projects are aware of the committee's rules. It any stUdent or faculty has questions pertaining to the Committee on the Protection of Human Subjects they may contect Professor Shannon in Sallsbury 28.
Q..
student newspaper of Worcester Polytechnic Institute Tuesday, December 6, 1977
past inaction
dent government committees " reborn" by Ken Mandi/8 WPI Student Government Mln~itt•Ao:.c seem to have been "reborn" almost falling victim to Inaction last The Internal Residence Hall Com· Commuters, and the Committee of ned Students have all been active year and have plans for the future. Reed, Chairperson of the Internal Hall Committee, said the .,..,,tt~.,. will start revamping the housing this week. She said the committee to change the dete of housing lottery •IJlUae1nts will know sooner whether they be provaded with campus housinlj. She ·•••a1athe committee will try to get rid of panic associated with the lottery. said she had problems getting residents to run for IRHC The elections were first to A· term, but were rescheduled times. The committee was finally this term. Commuters have held five meetings this Tom Daniels. Commuter Re·
presentative, said that there has been some action on parking problems on Institute Road. Some commuters felt that cars parked on the north side of Institute Road posed a safety problem. WPI Campus Security and the Worcester Pollee Department were told about the problem. The WPD will not ticket illegally parked cars on Institute Road. The commuters also found out about a Commuter Fund. Money from the fund was recently used for a commuter party. Another party is now being planned. Tony Weiner, Chairman of the Com· mitt~ of Ccnc~rn~d Students, said that he has been successful this year In gettiny people to do leg work. Lest year Weiner suggested that the CCS be abolished, but he now feels that the committee can be effective in dealing with several issues. One project now being worked on Involves student input into faculty evaluation procedures. A notice pertaining to this project appears elsewhere In this Issue of Newspe11k.
esidential Field narrowed the field of candidates for the presidency has been narrowed to two names, to a release from the presidential committee. Although names have been released as yet, it was learned by that both candidates hold highadministrative positions in the ing colleges of two major universities. candidates will be on campus this through Monday, with several
meetings scheduled for each with trustees faculty and selected students. An ope~ meeting for the student body with each candidate has been arranged. One candidate will be at a meeting Friday, December 9 from 3:30-4:30 p.m.; the other on Monday, December 12 at the same time. Both meetings will be held in the Library Seminar Room on the third floor of the Gordon Library. The meetings are open to all students.
rsession rolls strengthen by Phl1ip Cz11pls Following published reports in Newspeak this year's low lntersession enrollment, it that the situation has reversed itself, Harriet Kay, lntersession Coor·
"Apparently a lot of people simply forgot tegister before the deadline," said Mrs. who had initial fears that the selection course offttrings might be at fault. ....rwevAr, after the publicized plight of the enrollment, people started coming in their selection forms, and now the ment is up to a normal of about 60 cent of the student body, ensuring the •IUitCCl>S of lntersession for this year. that the course schedule results been distributed, Mrs. Kay wishes to -rnnnlu emphasize to those people who satisfied with the courses they ~t&l\rArt or those who still haven't llll13ietered. that chtmgss can still be made,
and in many cases one can get Into the courses they would like if they would stop by the lntersession Office and see her as soon as possible. If you decide not to attend a particular course you have been registered for, ple11se let Mrs. Kay know by stopping in at her office or simply by a phone call. Mrs. Kay feels that this is the least courtesy that non· attending students who hAve enrolled can give to the lntersession program, as there may be others waiting to get into a course that is already filled. A "no show" results in a tragic waste of time, resources, and effort on the part of those involved In teaching lntersess1on, but is something that could easily be avoided if the student would simply inform Mrs. Kay. The lntersession Office is located on the third floor of Washburn, Room 300, and is most easily accessed by using the Freeman Plaza entrance to the building.
W1YK Hamming It up. - This paat S.turday the WPI Wlral... Auocla tlon relocat· ad to the Galleria t o perform their unique " Me..age Center" op~natlon. In t he daya w o rk, hundreds of frH " Hamgrama" ware aent. meny b•towlng holiday greet· lngs. Thll free servlce laav~llable anytime at WPI. Contact t he Redlo Club.
After fire
Students relocate by John Walsh On Sunday, November Zl, twenty-three WPI students were left homeless by a fire at twenty eight lancaster Street. The fire apparently started in a second floor apartment, which received "considerable damage" according to a Worcester Fire Department spokesman. The residents of the apartment where the fire started filed With the Red Cross Disaster Service. however, they apparently were able to find housing and did not require aid. According to Mrs. Bishop of the Red Cross they did not leave specific addresses, however, they believe that two of the tenants, John Lenhoff and John Hannon, are in Worcester. Bob Komich Is listed as having gone to Boston, and John Rice apparently went to his home in New london, New Hampshire. Five brothers of SAF. lived In the other second floor apartment, which received minimal damage and which, according to Mrs. Arthur Bastille, whose husband owns the building, should be ready for the students to move back into within two weeks. Currently four of the brothers are living at SAE and the fifth, George Fredette is commuting from Fitchburg. Four of the students: Henry Loud, Keith Backman, John Noonan, and John Catrone
have found temporary housing across the street at twenty-five lancaster Street, but find their living quarters cramped there and hope to move back soon. Jeff Stickles and his roommates have found housing on lancaster Street b&tween Institute and Highland Streets, where they plan to stay for the remainder of B term and then move back. They are still living in their apartment, as Fred Fisher said, "it smells a little, but where else do we have to go." According to Fisher they have received no assistance in relocating. Jeremy Smith and Marty Gentry, who lived on the third floor were put up overnight at Howard Johnson's by the Red Cross, which maintains apartments for that purpose but which are filled almost constantly. Jeremy and Marty are now also hvmg at twenty-five Lancaster Street. Apparently the Red Cross contacted some of the students, specifically those who were at the fire, and thrll them, their roommates. Others such as George Fredette were not even aware that aid was available. The aid that the Red Cross provides consists of food, clothing and temporary housing. None of the students contacted had received any assistance in finding a place to live until their apartments could be repaired.