USU beats U in Blood Battle
Students at Utah State University donated more blood than students at University of Utah for the third year running during the annual Blood Battle between the two schools.
The final tally was 880 pints donated by USU students versus 655 donated by U of U students, said Holly Scott, public relations director for ASUSU. This margin was much larger than last year’s 13-pint victory, Scott said. Each pint represents the donation of one student, she said.
The Blood Battle took place during the first week of school as part of Week of Welcome activities. The 880 pints of blood was collected over a five-day period, Scott said, meaning that more than 150 students donated blood every day.
The American Red Cross, which USU donated the blood through, set a goal of collecting 750 pints of blood at the beginning of the drive, Scott said. The service center at USU aimed a little higher, hoping for 800 pints. With 880 pints donated this year, both of the organizations were able to exceed their goals, Scott said.
The Blood Battle started in 2002 and, while the U of U came out on top the first year, USU came back to win the next three competitions – including this year’s battle, Scott said. A trophy will be awarded to USU during the football game between USU and the U of U in Salt Lake City on Sept. 10, Scott said.
The tradition of Blood Battle will continue in 2006, she said, although the Red Cross intends to send more workers in the future.
“We needed more man hours. We had to turn a lot of willing donors away,” Scott said. “There were so many willing to donate.”
-dmaxfield@cc.usu.edu