UW-Milwaukee Panel Approves Project to Document Young Voices

Several months of tension finally broke Friday morning when UW-Milwaukee’s Institutional Review Board approved a proposal set forth by the members of Transforming Justice that would give community members a unique and personal voice on the subject of prevalent social issues in Milwaukee, such as racial prejudice and mass incarceration, by creating a public archive through documentation and new media.

The IRB, comprised of UWM faculty, students, and community members, uses numerous sources of state, federal, and universal ethical policies to review research that involves human subjects, including the study submitted by Principal Investigator Anne Bonds, PhD, one of the primary organizers of Transforming Justice and an Assistant Professor of Geography and Urban Studies at UWM.

The study was originally approved as expedited in January, but a request made by TJ after the proposal’s initial acceptance brought it back to the board for further review. The request sought the recruitment of 16-24 year old participants from high-impact neighborhoods to conduct interviews with other youth and adult community members on the subjects of mass criminalization and policing in attempts to further document personal experience and the current political economy on a local level. This facet of the project would provide personal multimedia-based material inherent to the project’s goal of creating a historical community archive for analysis of individuals directly impacted by mass incarceration. Due to the sensitive nature of the subjects’ ages, the IRB requested amendment procedures to be more clearly defined to ensure the safety of participants and community members.

Five TJ representatives filed into a small room in Engelmann Hall Friday morning and opened the meeting with an appreciative summary of the past few months, including acknowledgement of 37 amendments made to the proposal between January and February at the IRB’s request.

At the head of the table with emphatic yet passionate composure, Lorraine Halinka Malcoe, PhD, an associate professor at the Zilber School of Public Health and an organizing member of TJ, succinctly encapsulated the group’s efforts in using the potential opportunity afforded by the proposal’s approval to benefit local communities.

“[We aim] to provide voices of youth through interviews,” said Malcoe. “We want to accurately represent their views and in ways that will not cause them harm. [We aim] to not abridge or edit their views through the lens. Our hope is that the archive will be widely viewed.”

Proposals submitted to the IRB are either approved with or without stipulations, denied, or tabled for further review, but this specific overture resulted in an elaborate undertaking for both parties. As the summary neared its end, tension grew as both parties acknowledged the almost unprecedented and unlikely nature of having a proposal return to the board for a third time without approval or denial. A wash of subtle reflection spread across the faces of many present and culminated with an IRB board member admitting it had been a long process to endure.

Robert Smith, Director of the Cultures and Communities program at UWM and an organizing member of TJ, chimed in and relieved some weight from the room.

“Oh, so you don’t want us to come back?” asked Smith with a chuckle, as laughter circulated around the room.

The meeting continued as members of the review board voiced their remaining concerns with the study, including issues that may arise with youths’ access to unmonitored technology such as iPads with Internet access, as well as the appropriation of compensation over the course of the research in terms of timing and level of participation. Members of TJ responded with prepared solutions that satisfied the concerns enough to move the discussion forward.

As the meeting drew to a close, IRB Chair and Associate Professor of Nursing Aaron Buseh PhD, addressed the proposing party, reminding them to take the study as seriously as it was reviewed and assuring them the goal of the IRB is to maintain integrity in research. This was confirmed by a nod from Tom LeBel, one of the study’s Primary Reviewers, whose position as an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, prisoner activist, and IRB board member put him in a unique position to add critical dynamic to many similar research proposals.

The board moved to vote as Malcoe’s request to remain present was honored by Buseh via the Open Meetings Law. Board member and Associate Professor of Psychology Katie Mosack moved to approve the proposal with stipulations, which was quickly seconded and approved.

Smiles spread across the faces of all members of Transforming Justice as they rose from their seats to exit the room.

After the departure of the proposing party, Buseh provided assurance and a strong reminder to IRB board members.

“Even when PI’s get emotional, these issues need intense examination for the sake of integrity,” said Buseh. “That is the job of the IRB.”