Members of the Student Assembly are urging Binghamton University officials to rethink the school’s relationship with the American Red Cross, which is governed by the Food and Drug Administration, and join a cause taken up by colleges across the country.

Student Association Vice President for Academic Affairs Matt Landau presented a resolution last night to the Assembly criticizing the FDA’s guidelines that restrict men who have ever had sexual intercourse with another man (MSM) from donating blood. Since the American Red Cross coordinates all blood drives on campus, Landau said the restriction is in violation of the University policy, including the goals of the Affirmative Action office.

In the resolution, Landau asks the University to publicly acknowledge that the restriction violates BU’s non-discrimination policies. He hopes for the support of the relaxation of MSM blood donation prohibitions.

“[The resolution’s purpose] is to send a message to the University that the SA thinks that the Red Cross is discriminating against homosexuals,” Landau said.

Landau emphasized, however, that his goal is not to keep the Red Cross from running blood drives on campus.

“That wouldn’t benefit anybody,” he said. “We just want the University to recognize that it’s an issue.”

The University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University and Sarah Lawrence College, among others, have also addressed the issue in their student body governments.

University officials said they would address the issue if the resolution is passed.

“If the resolution is passed, we would be interested in reviewing it to determine further action,” Glover said.

Members of the Southern Tier chapter of the American Red Cross, however, said the Red Cross does not agree with the standards set by the FDA and has been actively advocating for their revision. In 2006, the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), of which the Red Cross is a member, issued a statement encouraging the FDA to change its policy by imposing only a year-long deferral on MSM donors which is required for high-risk heterosexual donors, such as prostitutes.

“We, like all blood banks, are licensed by the FDA, and to operate we have to follow this set policy,” said Laurie Hubik, senior account manager for the Southern Tier area of the Red Cross. “We are disappointed that the FDA has not chosen to make such changes at this time. We will continue to work with the AABB to advocate for this.”

According to Hubik, the FDA re-evaluates their policies every fall, and in May 2007 officials said the organization will continue to review new scientific evidence as it becomes available.

Carlos Ali, co-director of The Rainbow Pride Union, said the group supports Landau’s resolution and, if it’s passed in the Assembly on May 31, will encourage the University to accept it.

“As a progressive campus we should be looking at these issues,” he said. “The University has a strong stance towards having a safe, welcoming and anti-discriminatory environment. In order to keep with that mission, I think this is something that’s very important.”

The FDA’s restriction is not practical, Ali said.

“It’s an unfair piece of legislation that has been around since the AIDS epidemic began, and it’s outdated,” he said. “There are a lot of people in the queer community that would love to be donating blood, especially in the MSM community, that can’t and are not allowed to.”

Hubik said she hopes the resolution does not discourage students from donating, as the Red Cross is barely able to keep up with the demand for blood already.

“We get 1,000 donations from BU over the course of the school year,” she said. “This is critical and we are doing everything we can to keep that going and keep the students participating.”