Stuyvesant High School has been hosting blood drives for three years now. Stuy has a tradition of receiving tickets to baseball games because we donate one of the largest quantities of blood of any high school in New York City. But this past blood drive, on December 17, 2007, did not live up to those ideals.
Students worked very hard to ensure the blood drive’s success. As always, the event was organized entirely on student initiative. They also helped the blood center’s staff set up and waited in line from first period onward to donate blood. In addition to the students who had already signed up to donate—approximately 200—there were an additional 137 walk-in students and teachers.
But because the New York Blood Center is understaffed, there were far more donors at any given time than available workers. Students waited in line for several periods just to be tested to see if they could give blood. Even after waiting for hours, quite a few were rejected for various reasons, including low iron count and visits to certain countries.
Instead of letting students wait to donate blood, however, Assistant Principal Organization Randi Damesek and other administrators ordered students out of the line if they had a class that period. The administration then checked program cards even when students said their teachers were aware that they were running a bit late.
As a threat to those waiting in line for hours to donate, administrators told donors there wouldn’t be a blood drive next year if students continued to miss class. Senior and blood drive co-coordinator Philip Chang said, “We had never come up with an official agreement. We knew that missing classes was not okay. It was just required that people could only donate during free or lunch periods, but we couldn’t control how long they stayed for.”
Instead of yelling at us and threatening us with the loss of a highly respected and positive event, administrators should have asked teachers to pardon students for possibly missing part of class and assured them that a pass would be brought to them the next day.
Mr. Teitel had made it clear that the blood drive shouldn’t be an excuse for students to miss their classes, but it was unfair to those willing to donate to be forced off the line. “Students who miss class for donating blood and saving lives is nothing short of praiseworthy and the fact that teachers have less of a problem letting kids miss class for a SING! All Day is appalling,” Chang said.
Despite the 98 percent attendance rate at Stuy, administrators believe generosity takes a back seat to attendance. Blood drives should remain important events, especially since they allow us to show our willingness to help others.
