Columbia University Department of Social Work
1255 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027 |
(212) 851-2300
Columbia University, Dean Takamura and the Capstone committee for this project failed their students in keeping with their mission on this particular project. Below is the mission of the School of Social Work.
Approximately half of the 400 graduating students declared that they were against the project that involved the microanalysis when they became aware that it was causing great harm to the individual being researched and went against the social worker ethics that they were taught (listed below).
Despite the basis of their objections to complete this project, it was a slap in the face for this Ivy League institution to force the students to participate or be unable to graduate.
I urge any students who are considering attending Columbia’s School of Social work to thoroughly examine what kind of education they will be receiving. Is it worth the debt to be part of a system that denies the humanity of an Iraq Veteran to help students understand a Native American female veteran? Columbia leads the way in advocating a “diagnosis” that will cause more harm to a veteran than good.
An apology and a conversation to change the way the work was being done was an easy solution, and there was time to do it. At least half of the 400 students were ready to make the changes necessary to maintain the integrity of their work.
The committee admitted to making a huge mistake and they were ready to apologize to the students and to me and to work on making this right. One staff person disagreed with the committee.
Marion Riedel did not have the humility to admit that an error had been committed and needed correcting. Too bad, now I have to tell the story.
Columbia University Department of Social Work
Mission Statement
Columbia University School of Social Work derives its mission from the University’s goal to advance knowledge and learning at the highest level and to use that knowledge for human betterment and societal advancement. Recognizing the importance of New York as a global city, the School seeks academic relationships with many countries and regions.
To that end, the School aims to:
1. prepare graduate students for advanced social work practice and professional leadership within a diverse learning environment;
2. advance knowledge for effective social work practice and education;
3. enhance the well-being of the people and communities of New York City, the nation, and around the world; and
4. further the goals of the University and the social work profession though collaboration, consultation, and public service.
More specifically, the School’s educational and research programs draw on social work values and a multi-disciplinary body of knowledge and skills in seeking to:
1. reaffirm the importance of respectful, meaningful, collaborative relationships as a core element of social work practice;
2. strengthen practices, programs, and policies that support and enhance the opportunities, resources, and capacities of people to achieve their full potential;
3. prevent and alleviate personal, interpersonal, and societal problems;
4. redress conditions that limit human development and quality of life; and
5. promote human rights, social justice, and respect for human diversity
Social Work Ethics and Protocol
The Department of Social Work Educators have exempted themselves from the following and subjected their students to follow suit in order to graduate them in 2010. In spite of the students reluctance and attempt to withdraw from this moral dillema. They were threatened into going against these regulation in order to receive their diploma.
§46.117 Documentation of informed consent.
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, informed consent shall be documented by the use of a written consent form approved by the IRB and signed by the subject or the subject's legally authorized representative. A copy shall be given to the person signing the form.
(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, the consent form may be either of the following:
(1) A written consent document that embodies the elements of informed consent required by §46.116. This form may be read to the subject or the subject's legally authorized representative, but in any event, the investigator shall give either the subject or the representative adequate opportunity to read it before it is signed; or
(2) A short form written consent document stating that the elements of informed consent required by §46.116 have been presented orally to the subject or the subject's legally authorized representative. When this method is used, there shall be a witness to the oral presentation. Also, the IRB shall approve a written summary of what is to be said to the subject or the representative. Only the short form itself is to be signed by the subject or the representative. However, the witness shall sign both the short form and a copy of the summary, and the person actually obtaining consent shall sign a copy of the summary. A copy of the summary shall be given to the subject or the representative, in addition to a copy of the short form.
(c) An IRB may waive the requirement for the investigator to obtain a signed consent form for some or all subjects if it finds either:
(1) That the only record linking the subject and the research would be the consent document and the principal risk would be potential harm resulting from a breach of confidentiality. Each subject will be asked whether the subject wants documentation linking the subject with the research, and the subject's wishes will govern; or
(2) That the research presents no more than minimal risk of harm to subjects and involves no procedures for which written consent is normally required outside of the research context.
In cases in which the documentation requirement is waived, the IRB may require the investigator to provide subjects with a written statement regarding the research.
