Amid the frenzied tragedies of the past couple weeks, it’s easy to overlook the minute, albeit powerful, bright moments of humanity.
SF State played host to a blood drive this past week, sponsored by Phi Gamma Chi and Blood Centers of the Pacific partnership.
Mamunna Gorsi, a 19-year-old civil engineering major and sorority member, said that the drive had met its goal of 40 donations, surpassing by 9.
“We heard about the hurricanes and stuff and we wanted to give back … with what happened in North Bay and what happened in Las Vegas,” Gorsi said. “We usually do a blood drive every semester. We’re partnered with Blood Centers of the Pacific, and it’s up [in] North Bay right now. They’ve told us that they donated 200 units to the Las Vegas shooting.” This campus blood drive could be crucial because according to an email from Blood Centers of the Pacific four of their donation centers are closed due to the fires.
Teresa Hernandez, a 20-year-old marketing major and fellow Phi Gamma Chi sister, voiced appreciation for the donations. “Everyone seems so excited to help. It feels like we are actually helping people.”
Razell Deang, a 20-year-old marketing major, donated Thursday afternoon and exited the donation bus with an expression of achieved relief. “It was for the Las Vegas incident; really, we just need to help each other out. If I have the time to do it, and if I have the motivation, of course, I’m going to help,” she said when referencing why she decided to donate.
Deang also brought up the North Bay fires, mentioning that her relatives’ home, or “our family home,” as she put it, burned down. They are now staying with her.
John Ray Guevarra, a 20-year-old Asian American studies major and member of the newly formed fraternity Epsilon Sigma Rho, also donated Thursday afternoon and echoed the previous sentiments calling for help from the public. “I’ve always wanted to donate blood … the blood is always going to go somewhere good.”
Guevarra echoed previous calls to emotion from fellow students. “What happened in Vegas was a tragedy, what’s going on in the North Bay … is also a tragedy in its own right,” he said.
Guevarra mentioned a unique humanitarian aspect of donating blood. “For the people who are receiving the blood … I would like to think that it shows them that, even though you don’t know the person, it shows that someone cares enough to donate part of themselves to give to you.”
This anonymity spoke to him, he added, “we don’t know who this blood is going to … I think it does carry more weight because for all I know it could be going to … a person whose political beliefs or lifestyle I might not necessarily agree with, but it doesn’t matter in the end because they’re receiving something that they need,” he said.
