Craig A's blog

For everyone who thought that SAQD was all about doom, gloom, and white face paint - we are proud to introduce the latest in social activism with a wicked beat.

Introducing:

February 20 - HOT TOPIC: Gay Organ Donation

The first in a series of monthly community-oriented dance parties at SEVEN Night Club, this initial night's proceeds will go to combat the ban on gay organ donation. Come out at 6 pm for a dinner featuring:

Choice of Mediterranean Vegetable Pie or
French Canadian Meat Pie with Green Tomato Relish  read more »

London / January 17, 2008 – A group of queer students and their supporters marched on Health Canada’s London offices earlier today, demanding that a new policy around organ donation be immediately repealed based on both its homophobic nature and the increased deaths it will cause due to the rejection of otherwise healthy organs.

Members of Standing Against Queer Discrimination (SAQD), as well as supporters from Students Opposed to Hatred On Campus (SOHOC), the UWO Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), and members of campus NDP and Liberal groups gathered in downtown London today carrying signs and banners demanding that the recent policy, implemented without consultation and in secret, be replaced with one based on, as the group argued “Science – not stereotypes”. Marching through downtown, the protesters argued that the time had come to stand against homophobia, and that the policy was unjustified – calling instead for a policy based on “risky behaviours, not risky people”.  read more »

London / December 6, 2007 – The University Students’ Council of the University of Western Ontario turned its back on a group of marginalized students last night, with members of the board of directors standing in front of these students informing them that regardless of their experiences they weren’t being discriminated against, they were just confused.

Standing Against Queer Discrimination, in cooperation with allies on the USC, brought forward a motion last night calling on the USC to issue a public statement regarding the discriminatory Canadian Blood Services’ Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) policy, as well as drafting a letter calling for discussion around how best to address this issue and support those students who are feeling intimidated, demeaned, and unwelcome at the University of Western Ontario. This motion was systematically stripped of all mention of the policy as discriminatory in an attempt at appeasement, following which it was nonetheless voted down after heated debate.  read more »

London / November 13, 2007 – A group of queer students and their supporters staged a theatrical “die-in” outside the UWO campus blood clinic, protesting the way in which Canadian Blood Services’ discriminatory policies encourage the spreading of hate and contribute to the deaths of queer individuals.

Members of SAQD, as well as supporters from SOHOC and PIRG arrived dressed all in black, carrying tombstones and signs with the names and stories of a few of the many queer individuals who have died, as a result of murder or suicide, since the last time Canadian Blood Services was asked to change their policy by York University ten years ago. The names and stories lent a personal touch to the protest, communicating in a stark manner the very real, and often deadly, cost of institutionalized homophobia. “Homophobia Kills” shouted those who were present, arguing that they were there to speak for those who no longer could.  read more »

London / November 9, 2007 – The University of Western Ontario Student’s Council removed A-Channel reporters from a Canadian Blood Services presentation on their homophobic blood policies earlier this evening. This was the latest example of a continuing attempt to silence the voices of student advocates arguing for an end to Canada’s out-dated policies banning any men who have had sex with men since 1977 from donating blood.

The night’s most disturbing feature was the presence of University police, detached to prevent any external media coverage of this event. The student council’s claims that the forum was designed solely for students, and that the media was banned for the benefit of students, rang hollow given that invitations had been extended to the media by students themselves. This obvious attempt to prevent student voices from being heard caused those members of the print media present to express surprise at the student council’s actions. One reporter compared the evening’s one-sided debate, at which members of opposing parties were not given the opportunity to participate to that of an extremist religious group.  read more »