This week, the Carleton University Student Association decided to pull participation in Shinerama, a fund-raiser for cystic fibrosis research and treatment, citing the genetic disease as “recently revealed to only affect white people and mainly men.”

On Monday, the CUSA directors voted 17-2 in favour of selecting another charity to support during orientation week. Some students have labeled the motion “Shinegate,” saying that it cuts off a 25-year-old tradition and a significant source of revenue for the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Cathleen Morrison, CEO for CCFF, estimated the school had raised over $1 million during its past campaigns and $20,000 this year alone.

While CF is a fatal genetic respiratory disease which does primarily affect Caucasians, that category does include people from Europe, the Middle East, India, and North Africa. U of T professor and CF specialist Dr. Peter Durie added the disease is also quite common among African-Americans, Hispanics, and in rarer cases, patients of Chinese and Japanese descent. “Unlike the message we’ve been getting from the Carleton University saga, it is in fact the most common genetic disease amongst these people.”

Former Shinerama National Chair and UTSC Student Life coordinator Drew Dudley denied that CF affects mostly men. He said that while males and females are equally affected by the disease, it is women who are often at a disadvantage. “Women, as a general rule,have their health more severely compromised and they tend not to survive as long as men.”

The cystic fibrosis gene was first discovered by researchers from U of T, the Hospital for Sick Children, and the University of Michigan in 1989. Currently, half of Canadians with CF do not live past their late 30s.

In interviews with media, CUSA president Brittany Smyth has argued that the intent of the motion was to switch support to another charity. This is a claim CUSA journalism councilor Nick Bergamini says is a “total lie.” It was “a racially charged motion,” argued the third-year student.

A student rally is set to take place at Carleton’s Mackenzie Field at noon today. CUSA has declared an emergency meeting for Monday, Dec. 1.