The University of Georgia requires departments that are offering field trips or field activities to explain to the participants, before departure, the risks and potential problems associated with these activities. This allows you to make an informed decision on whether you want to proceed with participation, or not. Any field activity involves more risk than does classroom activity. Some of the risks that should be considered in connection with The Honors Interdisciplinary Field Program are as follows:

1. In The Honors Interdisciplinary Field Program, we must do a lot of driving to get to our field sites. This increases, statistically, the chance that you will be involved in an automobile accident. We try to reduce these risks by requiring that University passenger vehicles be driven only by program staff members who are University of Georgia employees. During the years that The Honors Interdisciplinary Field Program has been in operation (formally the Honors Geology and Anthropology Program), there have been no vehicle accidents involving personal injury. We cannot, however, guarantee that such accidents will never occur.
2. At the field sites, we must often do considerable hiking, carrying day-packs, to see certain geologic/anthropologic/ecologic features or to complete field projects. Most of these hikes are on maintained trials, but some are in open country, which is often mountainous. Some of the trails are quite steep and require good physical conditioning. We will not do rock-climbing, or hike on slopes that require climbing equipment or special mountaineering skills. However, it is possible for you to slip and fall even on more gentle slopes, and falls could result in serious injury. Medical help (other than first aid) may not be quickly available in some wilderness areas.
3. Several students and staff members have fallen during hikes in previous years. In most cases, injuries did not occur, or were limited to superficial cuts or bruises. One student received a leg cut that required a doctor's visit and stitches. Another broke a bone in her foot, which required a cast. A very few numbers studentsover the past several decadeshave sustained injuries while engaging in activities expliclity prohibited by staff, such a hiking off trail or jumping into streams.These incidents are very much more the exception, than the rule, however they are noted as a reminder that injuries are sometimes avoidable if you heed the staff advise.
4. We try to emphasize safety procedures and to provide safety instructions. You will be required to carry a few first-aid supplies and an emergency signaling device when you are in the field. You will be required to stay in the company of other students whenever field activities are being done, and one or more staff members will accompany all field work. However, we cannot eliminate all possibilities of injuries in the field.
5. We must sometimes work when the weather is less than ideal. Both very hot and very cold weather are likely to be encountered. Thunderstorms sometimes appear rapidly on days that start out clear. We will not work in conditions that the staff judges hazardous, but you will sometimes find it necessary to work in conditions that may be uncomfortable.
6. We will attempt to determine if you have any medical problems that might be aggravated by work under unpleasant conditions. If you do, we advise you not to participate in The Honors Interdisciplinary Field Program. If you fail to inform us of such problems and we determine in the field that you are endangering yourself or others as a result, we may limit your participation in some activities (which could adversely affect your grade), or we may dismiss you from the class. One student was dismissed under these circumstances in a previous year.
7. You will help the group do "housekeeping" chores at camp, including meal preparation and clean-up. This is not normally a hazardous activity, but a student was severely burned by a hot-water spill several years ago. (She received first aid in camp and returned to the program after a brief hospital stay.) We have made equipment modifications to prevent a repetition of this particular occurrence, but such things are difficult to predict. Note that similar accidents could occur to you at home.
8. Personal property that you take with you may be lost, damaged, or stolen. Tents are frequently abused, usually due to improper setup. The University of Georgia and The Honors Interdisciplinary Field Program staff are not responsible for such losses.
9. We do not work with hazardous or toxic chemicals in The Honors Interdisciplinary Field Program, and we feel that you should encounter no more exposure to such materials than you would if you did not participate in the program.

It is to our advantage, as well as yours, to run a program that is safe. We make safety the highest priority and will do our best to assure that this is the case. However, we cannot give you absolute assurance that nothing unforeseen will happen to you. You should weigh the benefits of participation against the additional risks that field work and travel entails.

1. This summarizes some of the risks discussed above.
2. This points out that you are not required to participate in field activities of the sort that you will encounter in The Honors Interdisciplinary Field Program. You can take the similar courses on campus without these activities. If you choose the field options, then you are accepting the additional risks that accompany that option.
3. This says that the University of Georgia has allowed you to participate in The Honors Interdisciplinary Field Program. In return, and with an understanding of the risks involved, you agree not to hold the University of Georgia, or anyone associated with or employed by the University of Georgia legally liable for anything that might happen to you on the trip.
4. "Sovereign immunity" means that the University of Georgia, like other state agencies, can be sued only under certain specified circumstances. A waiver, like this one, might be interpreted as an admission by the University of Georgia that this condition was invalid. You are accepting the fact that the waiver does not affect sovereign immunity.
5. You must be 18 in order to sign contract making it legally binding; below that age, your parents or guardian is legally responsible for you, and must sign the form along with you. "Legal disability" would be something like mental illness that may prevent you from understanding what you are signing - you are saying that you do understand the wavier.

If you have any questions about this material, or you would like to discuss it further with me before signing anything, please feel free to contact me at (706) 542-2652.

Dr. Paul A. Schroeder

UGA-IFP - Program Coordinator