Senior Matthew Pohl and the co-presidents of the Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS) met with Dean of Students Bruce Reitman yesterday to finalize a compromise on the Red Cross blood drives that take place on campus.
Pohl first took issue with the LCS-sponsored blood drives last semester, arguing that policies set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and implemented by the Red Cross discriminate against gay and bisexual men.
Under Red Cross regulations, any man who has had sex with another man is not eligible to donate blood.
According to Pohl, this policy violates the Tufts Community Union Judiciary (TCUJ) non-discrimination policy for student groups, as well as the University's non-discrimination policy.
Yesterday's compromise will allow Red Cross blood drives to continue on campus, but also calls for increasing campus-wide and national awareness of the allegedly discriminatory policies. Dean of Students Bruce Reitman described it as a "win-win situation."
The compromise also calls for a "Community Conversation" next semester that will highlight the issues surrounding the Red Cross' controversial policies.
The LCS will also send a letter and petition to the Red Cross encouraging the organization to "determine the validity and/or need for the current policies about eligibility to donate blood," yesterday's resolution said.
Furthermore, LCS will no longer sponsor blood drives, but rather will "host" them. LCS will still use student activity funds to advertise the drives, however.
Pohl, LCS co-presidents Andrea Daley and Emily Cerveira, and Reitman all expressed satisfaction with the meeting's outcome. "I very much appreciated the spirit of compromise with which the parties approached this situation," Reitman said.
"They're trying to bring some pressure on the FDA and Red Cross to try to change the policies, and yet found a way to continue the blood drives that so many students take part of," he said.
Although Pohl's original goal was to move the blood drives off-campus, estimates showed such a move would result in half as many Tufts students giving blood.
Pohl said his intention was never to eliminate blood drives or impede Tufts students from giving blood, and called such claims "unfounded."
"I have been willing to compromise pretty much since day one," Pohl said. Instead of going straight to the TCUJ, Pohl contacted the Dean of Student's office because "[Reitman] is a licensed mediator with the state of Massachusetts," he said.
Daley said the agreement "strikes a very good balance of keeping the sanctity of what the blood drives mean on campus, and at the same time recognizes that there is discrimination felt by people on campus."
According to Pohl, "community dialogue is the crown jewel of this compromise. Not only are we conscious in our own community of [the Red Cross'] policy, but we're working to create change on the national level. The agreement has national implications."
Reitman agreed. "I know that our's is not the only campus on which this debate is taking place. I think it very well could bring change," he said.
Yesterday's agreement is the fruit of two meetings between Pohl and LCS. The first occurred in October, but neither party was satisfied with the outcome.
"I felt [the first meeting] was lacking in compromise for LCS," Daley said. "It was extremely different in the [last] meeting, and we're extremely proud that blood drives will continue to be held in the dorms."<$>
