After initial concerns that the much-anticipated Student Council Red Cross Blood Drive would be permanently erased from this year’s calendar, the drive has been officially rescheduled for Monday, April 4. The previous date was Jan. 20, meaning the drive comes almost three months after the original scheduling.

This large jump may be inconvenient for some, but it also presents new opportunities. Because of the rescheduling, event planners will be requiring all students and staff who are interested in giving blood to sign up again. Those people who signed up for the January blood drive will still need to sign up for the upcoming April drive, according to sophomore Anna Killpack, a StuCo member who has participated in the planning of the drive. Students who may have missed the previous sign-ups or were previously ineligible because of weight or other factors are welcome to sign up this time around.

Sign-up tables will be in the cafeteria March 28 to April 1. The process will be identical to the one in January; students must complete forms and schedule a time slot for their donation. The Red Cross still requires that donors are over 16 (with a parental permission form) or over 17 (without parent permission), healthy, and over 110 pounds. However, the official restrictions, available on the American Red Cross Website, state that teenagers who donate may be subject to different standards on a case-by-case basis.

Student Council remains optimistic about the outcome of this event.

“I’m definitely glad we are getting the chance to still do [the drive],” said Killpack.