Senior Matthew Pohl and the co-presidents of the Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS) came to an agreement in December allowing Red Cross Blood drives to continue on campus.
The deal calls for increased local and national education efforts about a potentially discriminatory policy forbidding men who have sex with other men from donating blood.
Pohl first took issue with LCS-sponsored blood drives last semester, arguing that the policy set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and implemented by the Red Cross discriminates against gay and bisexual men.
According to Pohl, the donation guidelines violated the Tufts Community Union Judiciary (TCUJ) non-discrimination policy for student groups, as well as the University's non-discrimination policy.
Next semester, a "Community Conversation" will highlight the issues surrounding the Red Cross' controversial policies.
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," according to the resolution that emerged from the meeting.
According to Andrea Daley, LCS co-president, the resolution "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."
Dean of Students Bruce Reitman, who helped mediate the meeting, called the agreement "win-win."
