**Greeks give blood on behalf of would-be LGBT donors**

TUFTS UNIVERSITY — Volunteers from Tufts’ fraternities and sororities will be giving blood on behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in an effort to raise awareness that federal statutes prohibit some LGBT members from donating.

The Food and Drug Administration regulation in question states that any man who has had sex with another man is indefinitely ineligible to donate blood. This restriction extends to MSM persons in monogamous relationships and women who have slept with MSM persons.

“Scientifically, there is basis for the policy to still exist,” senior TCU senator Ryan Heman said. “The MSM population does have the vast majority of HIV and AIDS in the United States, so the risk of transmission if MSM were allowed to donate would
increase.”

According to Red Cross spokeswoman Donna Morrissey, although the Red Cross is legally obligated to follow the FDA regulation on MSM, the Red Cross does not necessarily endorse it.

“The Red Cross believes the current lifetime deferral for men who have had sex with other men is unwarranted and that the donor criteria should be modified,” Morrissey told the Daily last month.

By Rachel Rampino
Tufts Daily

**Violence in Mexico affects schools, families, campus community**

UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON — As the continued violence in Mexico begins to draw closer to home, students from both sides of the border are affected.

For some students, the violence has made it difficult to visit family in Mexico and has turned what was once a routine trip into a gamble for their lives.

“It’s keeping us away from our family, our friends and from the lives we used to know,” said Arianna Martinez, a UH alumni who graduated in 2009.

“It’s been a struggle because we want to be with our family, but at the same time you begin to think about all the things that could happen if you go to Mexico.”

For Martinez, the violence in Mexico hit close to home last August when her brother-in-law, a bodyguard for a CEO, was kidnapped after a gunfire battle in Monterrey, Mexico.

Two days later, Martinez’s brother-in-law was found.

“He was in a car stranded in one of the neighborhoods along with the other bodyguards,” Martinez said. “He was pretty beaten up and was in the hospital for five days.”

Mexicans attempting to leave the violence behind have applied for asylum. According to the US Department of Justice, in 2010 there were 3,231 asylum requests from Mexican nationals, but only 49 percent of them were granted.

By Jesus Acevedo, Miguel Cortina, Louis Casiano, Jorge Porras
The Daily Cougar