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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 2008)
4 Clackamas Print Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2008 L etters to the E ditor Students respond to “Sexual orientation prevents male student from giving bit Dear Editor, Dear Editor, Dear Editor, FDA regulations about ■xudlitv are "not ridiculous ” They try to protect every one as much as possible. .Anyone can get HIV or STDs, but gay men and women arc at most high risk If I was Io need blood. I would not lake it from a gay male' I would not accept blood for nty children from a gay oi lesbian II I am sure that Red Cross Due to the higher risk of certain behaviors on pass ing diseases, those who engage in such behaviors should not be allowed to donate. Even though the testing procedures have improved over the years, it’s not perfect. Many years ago, there was a scare over whether the available blood sup ply was contaminated or not. People have always had the choice to decide whether or not to engage in such behaviors, like choos ing whether to visit Africa or not for the first time. I am a student here at Clackamas. I have recently read your article on the Red Cross blood drive. As a reader, I think the Red Cross does not have to change any of their regula tions. For example, this student Knudsen is mad about not being accepted. I think this student is not angry about the rules but at not being accepted. To donate is to give, not to force. It is more as Red Cross is the customer and we the donators are the market. So I think Red Cross should not change a thing. ■hlv thinks about the best lor everyone. Isabel- Dahm e li Dear Editor, Anyone is welcome to respond ti any and all content published in The Clackamas Print. Send letters by e-mail to chiefed@clackamas.edu or deliver then Roger Rook Hall, room 135. Letters may have been edited for cl and space. Jason Kerr Bryan Young I am writing in response to the article about the gay man who was not able to donate blood at the blood drive he organized. Mitch Knudson was not able to donate blood because of his sexual orienta tion. To be quite honest, I am pleased that our government would not allow this to’hap pen. It shows a sort of consis tency that is not found in a lot of aspects of politics in our country. What I mean by this is simply that our country does not generally condone gay marriage and providing the same types of benefits as to regular married couples. Seeing as though this has created such a heated debate within our country, if the gov ernment allowed these people certain privileges, but not other ones, then they would not be consistent at all, and that shows instability in our government. What I am trying to get at is that if the idea of gay is going to be considered uneth ical and morally wrong in our nation, then it needs to be recognized as wrong in every way. I personally would be wor ried if certain rules were being bent in order to make people feel better about themselves, even if what they are doing might be wrong. Sarah Campbell Dear Editor, Homosexuality should not be a factor when deciding eligi bility for blood donation. In our current times, pro miscuity is standard for both homosexuals and heterosexu als. Perhaps the Red Cross should be cautious about blood from both sources. In my day-to-day life, I am always overhearing conversa tions about people’s personal sexual exploits. “I started my period,” one girl happily proclaims. “Oh, I’m so happy for you,” says another. The very casualness of this conversation exemplifies that heterosexuals are engaging in risky behaviors. Cory Adams Dear Editor, _ Sexual orientation prevents male student from giving blood I I I A FDA regulation about sexuality stops the Clackamas blood drive organizer, Mitch Knudsen, Horn donating Mesan Kaier I Ediftyr iw Straight Alhaace. "Aayoae feat is taw unprotected sex is by MSM. or a sutewp of tee poreuta doners, is as safe as suseSiUe” Uood item cunew accepted amare. Ti papetuates « stereotype feat all gay men have HIV Martes sta rtata* planned to mamaiu chore potaes and featHW is a gay man’s problem,”Bunreil added. ‘These evenita$canent blood-testing tedteogies have improved tallhy, wung men that set tested are constantly reminded feat and wifi «steteto marten ten until new rataratroo feeytataaceeptedaMte'aretaijteofas''dKeased.’’ becomes wabble.’ , , Kradsen considers himself a responsible individual and Knudsen succeeded m o^reang yet another draws oftee at fee stereotypes feat fane developed over fee school sear, and win rapanrze one again, fee ,^55 success is a complicated one. “People saU fesi feat rays are praaiwiass and sleep “Td like to ave blood,” be said “I like coordtnatmg it and anra^’Kmidrensaid.'TmmicofflimtedreMoiife4>.IdoB’t IamgMIamdomgrtbecaurel Ske beta people; but st the wg steeparote. Idea ! do feat” sametmie.itjustremmdsmethatlean'tdote” “They could save so many more lives if they let gay men donate. ” Mitch Knudsen ASG Public Affairs Officer is to enhance blood safttv wo protect blood reapi- ents. Therefore, TOA would change dm pohev only if c’/«ha«<n JVirt Student leadership adviser Michelle Baker waits patiently as she is prepped to give blood Wednesday, Jan. 30. L Dear Editor, Dear Editor, Dear Editor, The recent article pub lished on Wednesday, Feb. 6, has sparked more than its share of controversy. I can see both points of view, and it boils down to discrimination and whether it is right. But I also implore you to look at both sides. For instance, they will also not allow people who have gotten piercings or tat toos in the last six months to give blood, either. So are they discriminating against everyone who has had a tat too or piercing? Are they considering them dirty peo ple? Now, back to saying all these people have this chemical or tainted blood is not true, but it is a precau tion the FDA takes to ensure the most blood that can be used is taken. I do not believe discrimi nation is OK or it should be tolerated, but sometimes a policy is set in place for the masses, not for the indi vidual. Zach Lenz ' I am afraid to say I agree with the American Red Cross on the sexual orientation issue. I would like to see everyone give blood, but unfortunately some have a higher risk than otb- ers. This higher risk does not just include sexual orientation, but also people who take medications and have to pass tests to use them, and for people who leave the country in which there is higher risk of harmful diseases. For example, I have been unable to give blood before ■use of a medication I was g. I had to meet certain requirements to use this medica tion. Since the medication travels Slood, the person who receives blood would also get this x lication, too. The recipient of ■ blood could have an aller- reaction to the blood because of the medication that is in the blood. The American Red Cross is going by standards to protect the recipients and donors. Lastly, I would prefer to go by all precautions needed to protect ■self if I was to receive blood n a donor. I am writing in response to your article about gay men not being able to donate blood. I’ve been well aware of this fact since I began donating blood over two years ago. I feel that donating blood is like giving a part of yourself to someone else. Your precious blood could, and probably will, save a life. I have many gay friends, male and female, and they are appalled by this. My best friend is a gay male. He is incredibly responsible and always safe. In his 19 years of life, he’s had one sexual partner. He has always wanted to donate blood but has never been allowed simply because he’s had sex with another man. Carol Burnell states that “anyone that is having unpro tected sex is susceptible.” I couldn’t agree with this more. HIV/AIDS was called “the gay cancer” back in the ’80s. Many people think that only gay men contract it. Many straight males and females have it, too, though. Upon stating that, I think it’s ridic ulous that healthy gay men can’t donate blood. I I I I I I I I I I If the blood that is is safe to use, then it should not matter i sexuality of the donato But, I will say th against gays and les think that they are s perverted. If I needei I would not want bio someone who is gay. However, if it can si lives, then perhaps should be done. If.tl is OK, then it should the person who is recei blood to decide if they use it. Kayla Swanson Dear Editor, Jenna Kendrick I I have no first-liaa» ence with blood drives.^ reading the article, I an form some opinions | The first thought th! my mind was, what is- gay sexual relations th_ SSTDs more than strain relations? This sparked my I ity, and I will need to fl research before I can ml it more. I After giving some tbl the matter, I figured if? restricts gays from givian there must be a good 5 The FDA is around tori being, and if they sayt ■ from gay men is detriij our health, I will believe ’ Tyler Smith * 1! Dear Editor, On the front page male’s sexual oriental vents him from givin The American Red Cros ity reads, “Organization accept blood from any n had sex with another a 1977.” This does sound lii crimination geared tofl men, but that does not i if scientific evidence isi able, then their blood is s I agree with the J Red Cross to maintain rent policy until new ini becomes available. It is be safe than sorry. Ulga Demidorich i Degermess ti
