by Drew Parks
The KU InterVarsity Christian Fellowship held an exhibition to raise student awareness on the human trafficking problem in the U.S. and worldwide.
To take part in End It Movement’s day to “shine a light on slavery,” InterVarsity presented its “Sex + Money” exhibition on April 9. People that came to see the exhibit participated by guessing the number on different statistics listed on a poster board and then students and staff involved in the group gave the actual number. Students were also invited to a shortened screening and discussion of “Sex and Money” on April 18 to learn more about the issue. InterVarsity leader Jamie Veeder estimated that 120 students participated in the exhibition. Veeder explained the reasons behind the exhibition.
“What we’re trying to do is show that God is active in the world and has a desire for these big global issues to be taken care of and that Christians have a role, as well as just giving some practical information about how to be involved here locally,” Veeder said.
Jamie Veeder talks through the human trafficking exhibition with Aimee Sommerville. Sommerville guessed on the statistics of how many people are in modern day slavery, the value of the sex industry and how many U.S. children are victims of sex trafficking. Veeder then went through the actual numbers with Sommerville, such as an estimated 100,000 U.S. children are victims of sex trafficking each year.
Many students guessed low on the statistics, like senior Valerie Peterson who said she was shocked by the numbers, especially in the U.S. Students who participated in the exhibition appreciated the group trying to raise awareness on the issue.
“I think it’s great that students are taking the time to inform their fellow KU students about a problem that a lot of us don’t realize,” sophomore Colin Thomas said.
