FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2010
WWW.KANSAN.COM
CAMPUS
VOLUME 121 ISSUE 107
Student group protests blood donation policy
anniev@kansan.com
BY ANNIE VANGSNES anniey@kansan.com
For the first time at the University Queers and Allies protested the Food and Drug Administration's blood donation policy that men who have had sex with other men cannot donate blood.
Members of Queers and Allies tabled in the Kansas Union Thursday to raise awareness and collect signatures for a petition to send to the FDA.
Michael Turner, a freshman from Manhattan, helped organize
the event. Turner said the group wanted to raise awareness about people who want to help save lives, but aren't allowed to.
"We're not protesting against the blood drive or the Red Cross at all," Turner said. "We are totally in support of what they do. We think it's great and we encourage people to donate."
The FDA passed its first policy prohibiting any man who had had sex with another man after 1977 from donating blood in 1983 because of the HIV-AIDS scare.
SEE BLOOD ON PAGE 3A
INTERESTING FACTS
See a video at kansan.com/videos
- Less than 38percent of the population is eligible to give blood.
- One pint of blood can save up to three lives.
- Every year 5 million patients in the U.S. need blood.
Adults have around 10 pints of blood in their bodies. One pint is given during a donation.
only seven percent
- Only seven percent of people in the U.S. have the universal donor blood type, O negative.
www.redcrossblood.org
Monica Soto, a senior from Kansas City, Kan., spent the day tabling for Queers and Allies in hopes of educating the student body about one of the myths about HIV/AIDS and blood donation. The Feb. 25 event was planned to raise awareness about the FDA's ban on accepting blood donations from men who have had sex with other men.
Howard Ting/KANSAN
ROCK FOR RELIEF
Chance Dibben/KANSAN
Dan Parker, lead singer for local band The Snugglebugs, wails during the band's performance at the "Lawrence Rocks 4 Haiti" at The Granada Thursday night. The event was organized to raise funds for Haiti after the January 12th earthquake.
Concert connects community
BY KIRSTEN KWON kkwon@kansan.com
For Fritz Esperance, a Haiti native, the Jan. 12 earthquake was devastating.
His sister arrived in the U.S. recently, after she was found alive but with a spinal injury from the home that crushed her.
Esperance, who is now a Lawrence resident, came to the United States in 1998 with a Haitian student group.
"I was shocked," Esperance said. "I didn't know what to do or what to say."
But most of his family — his mother, father, aunts and uncles — still live in Haiti, and some
have yet to be found.
"We lost," Esperance said. "The death count doesn't matter, the point is we lost."
Since the earthquake hit the country he's been w or k i n g with KU student groups to sponsor events and raise money
LawrenceRocksHaiti concert,
which was held Thursday night at
The Granada, 1020 Massachusetts
for the cause. In Lawrence he runs a musical production company called Afro United Entertainment. He performed at and helped organize the
FRITZ ESPERANCE Concert organizer
"We lost. The death count doesn't matter, the point is we lost."
The show was put on by several student groups and individuals that came together to raise money for Haiti. Student groups included
Delta Force, Campus Christians,
Engineers Without Borders,
Amnesty International at KU and
SEE HAITI ON PAGE 3A
A relief worker from the Red Cross who spent time assisting victims of the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti addresses the crowd, calling for more donations and support. She emphasized that working through channels like humanitarian organizations like the Red Cross was necessary, because some people with "good hearts" would do more harm than good by traveling to Haiti without a plan.
STATE
See a KUJH-TV story tomorrow night kansan.com
Smoking bill passes through the House
BY ROBERT ALTMAN
raltman@kansan.com
As of Thursday, all of the state is set to join Lawrence and other cities in Kansas this summer in banning smoking from bars, restaurants and other public places now that a statewide smoking bill has passed the House.
"This is a move towards a healthier direction for the state of Kansas," said Ken Sarber, a Health and Tobacco educator at Watkins Memorial Hospital.
The bill will go on to Gov. Mark Parkinson, who has previously endorsed the measure and is expected to sign, making the bill effective July 1.
The decision has been battled for
SEE STATE ON PAGE 3A
Academic calendar changes underway
STUDENT SENATE
BY ANNIE VANGSNES anniev@kansan.com
Students for the 2011 school year may see some changes in the academic calendar, including fewer instructional days.
The University Senate approved calendar changes for the academic calendar Thursday.
The next step is for Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor Danny Anderson to approve the changes. Cindy Derritt,
index
SEECALENDAR ON PAGE 3A
Classifieds...6A Opinion...5A
Crossword...4A Sports...10A
Horoscopes...4A Sudoku...4A
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