A month since the SOU athletic department hosted a Red Cross blood drive at McNeal Pavilion, discussion continued at the Associated Students of Southern Oregon University senate meeting Tuesday night.

ASSOU senate amended the resolution which bans blood drives on campus to say specifically that blood drives are not permitted on "all or any part of campus" to end future confusion.

The Red Cross has been banned from the SOU campus since 2003, a decision that has been upheld by ASSOU and administrators for reasons of discrimination against certain groups in their blood screening process.

The ban comes from the questions that the Red Cross asks donors concerning sexual practices. The Red Cross asks men if they have had sexual relations with other men. The Food and Drug Administration requires the Red Cross to ask personal questions in the screening process.

The controversy comes from the questions the Red Cross asks, not the presence of the non-profit organization itself.

Environmental studies student D. Grace Weil and her male partner have both been tested for HIV at least three times each, with the required minimum of three months between each test, yet neither can give blood for the rest of their lives.

"We are both banned for life under this rule," Weil said. "That’s discrimination."

Weil agrees that it is not actually the Red Cross as an individual organization that discriminates. The FDA requires the same screening process for the collection of blood regardless of the agency.

According to the FDA Web site, their primary responsibility is to blood safety. They claim they would change this particular policy with proper scientific data.

"Scientific evidence has not yet been provided to FDA showing that [this] blood ... is as safe as blood from accepted donors," according to fda.gov .

Dane Isner, of the Queer Resource Center and Gender Sexuality Union, feels that allowing the Red Cross on campus promotes discrimination.

"This type of discrimination is silly, archaic and something needs to be done," Isner said.

Senator At-Large Alexx Gauthier still feels that there is a need for the university to support blood drives in the community due to a low rate of donated blood nationwide.

"What serves the greater good? Blood drives serve the greater good," Gauthier said. "Our nation is in a national emergency for blood right now."

Sen. Gauthier moved for there to be a campus-wide vote, with a decision pending in the fall on whether or not blood drives, and specifically the Red Cross, should be banned from campus as a student policy. The senate’s resolution, as it stands, bans the Red Cross from any and all parts of the SOU campus.

Further discussion will take place at a later time. Students are invited to attend ASSOU senate meetings held Tuesdays at 6 p.m. in SU 313.