The Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS) may have violated Tufts' nondiscrimination policy during the recent blood drive hosted in Hodgdon and Carmichael Halls this year.
Senior Matt Pohl, founder of Emerge -- the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) political activist group -- brought a complaint to the University on Tuesday, claiming that the American Red Cross blood drive discriminates against homosexual and bisexual men.
The complaint stated that any event bearing the University name or sponsored by University funding is not allowed to discriminate based on sexual orientation.
The Red Cross donor survey currently prohibits men who have had sex with other men since 1977 from donating blood because it considers them at an increased risk for transmitting disease to recipients.
Pohl said that his frustration with the Red Cross' policy is based on principles, and that he has nothing against LCS or the Red Cross.
"Tufts University has a comprehensive nondiscrimination policy that specifically prohibits discrimination on basis of sexual orientation, which includes bringing in an outside organization to use facilities," Pohl said.
The Dean of Students Office did not return several phone calls Wednesday.
Dr. Jorge Rios, associate medical director for the New England Red Cross, defended the rule, saying there is hard evidence to back up the decision. "The reason behind it is affirmed in data from 2002 where 70 percent of new AIDS cases are due to either men having sex with other men or drug use," he said.
The Red Cross' position is that it must allow as little risk as possible. Rios said they use as many layers of protection as possible to protect recipients of donated blood.
"There is a need for a safe blood supply and no one wants to get HIV as a result of transfusion," he said.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandates the Red Cross's policy, the organization said. "We have to follow this rule, just like we follow all rules," Rios said.
At this point in time LCS is awaiting decisions from the administration before taking any further steps.
Blood Drive co-Coordinator Dan Keesing said that "we need to hear from the administration before we make any more decisions."
LCS co-President Andrea Daley said that "we understand where [the LGBT community] is coming from and we are not trying to ignore them. We want to find some way we can all be proud of the outcome."
Rios emphasized that this is not an outdated concern alleviated by testing. "A patient was infected with HIV through a blood transfusion as recently as last year; therefore we still need multiple layers of protection," he said.
One of the important distinctions in the policy is whether it discriminates based on orientation or based on the individual's behavior. "Ultimately the rules serve a purpose; there is a correlation between getting HIV and engaging in these activities, this is not based on sexual orientation," Rios said.
Pohl disagreed with this, as he believes that behavior is a defining characteristic of sexual orientation. "Sex is a behavior, people identify their orientation by the sex they engage in," he said.
After LCS notified the Red Cross of the controversy, they said a representative responded with suggestions for how to deal with concerned students.
According to LCS members, the representative also said that they are looking to meet with administrators at Tufts to better educate them on the subject.
Pohl emphasized that he is not trying to stop blood drives, and merely wants to maintain the integrity of the diversity policy. "By no means am I the Wicked Witch of the West. ... I want to see [blood drives] succeed but I don't want to diminish humanity of LGBT students," he said.
Pohl said his intentions are to create dialogue and possibly national change. "I hope the Red Cross and FDA would take notice as we are a major research university."
Dialogue was indeed sparked, as only a few hours after Pohl sent his complaint to the LGBT listserv Tuesday morning, senior Adam Pulver responded with a critique.
Pulver reacted mainly to the way Pohl attacked the policy by defending many of the Red Cross' motions.
Pulver's e-mail stated, "Being gay is not what the Red Cross blood drive takes issue with. It is a specific behavior which increases risk. If you have not had sex with a man, you can give blood, no problem."
Pulver was highly critical of Pohl's motion and said of the e-mail, "it was a reaction to his methods; we don't want to be the gay who cried wolf."
"When rights are violated, I am going to take any and all possible actions while keeping mind and ears open," Pohl said in response to Pulver's comments.
