Inspired by Passion, students raise human trafficking awareness
Normally, Davis Field doesn’t get much action.
But Wednesday afternoon, it played host to a group of passionate students — one armed with a megaphone — raising awareness about human trafficking.
Bundled up to brave the chilly winds, participants of the Stand for Freedom event were eager to share their cause and some pizza with fellow students walking by.
Second-year art education student Kelsey Phillips and second-year education student Caroline Faucette began the quest to educate their peers after learning about modern-day slavery at the Passion Conference, an annual gathering held in Atlanta where students primarily between the ages of 18 and 25 come together in prayer.
“We were inspired at Passion in Atlanta, and we wanted to raise awareness [about human trafficking] at USC,” Phillips said.
At this year’s Passion Conference in January, more than $3.2 million was raised to prevent human trafficking.
Second-year visual communications student Frankie Dee Pruitt, fourth-year nursing student Katie Huff and fourth-year visual communications student Alli Quattlebaum also assisted in the organization of the event.
With little more than two months to plan the stand, the team found a few problems along the way. But with the end goal in mind, they persevered.
“We definitely hit some roadblocks,” Faucette said. “As a team, we came together.”
Though the original goal was to stand for 27 consecutive hours, in reference to the 27 million slaves in the world today, plans were altered to adhere to USC rules.
“We changed it from 27 hours to 12 because of the university policy at night,” Faucette said. “We couldn’t stand on Davis Field at night, so we made it during the day.”
Still keeping the “27” theme, the event was rescheduled to last between 7:27 a.m. and 7:27 p.m. During those 12 hours, volunteers educated passersby on facts about human trafficking and told others why they were passionate about the cause.
Fourth-year political science student Allie Yost led a fact circle for those nearby to further educate the masses about what the cause entails.
“The total market value of human trafficking is estimated to be $32 billion,” Yost said. “That’s more than Google, Starbucks and Nike combined, but slaves can be bought for as little as $30.”
According to the Trafficking in Persons Report released by the U.S. government in 2004, between 600,000 and 800,000 people were trafficked across international borders in 2004, and about half were children. That number has steadily increased over the past nine years, totaling to the current number: 27 million.
In order to keep the momentum going, the “Stand for Freedom-ers” are hosting a percent night at Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt in Five Points tonight.
Though organizers said all donations are encouraged and appreciated, awareness is the key to this cause.
“I think it’s extremely important that we don’t become numb to the injustice in the world,” Yost said. “We need to raise our voice for freedom.”