Slaves for sale

I am a white American male. That places me among the most powerful people in the world. The choice of how to use that power is mine to make. I find the privilege I was born into leaves me in a place of great apathy. I have to choose to engage with injustices around the world because, frankly, I am divorced from them in my day-to-day life.

I am also a follower of Jesus. Jesus lived a life of poverty choosing to live among the marginalized and neglected in society. He advocated for those that had no voice. Following Jesus means that eventually I will have to encounter injustice because Jesus hates injustice and takes action against it. Jesus gets his hands dirty.

Our Christian faith is what motivates InterVarsity Christian Fellowship to host the sex trafficking station on the UA mall. God values all human life. As we follow him into the issue of sex slavery, we are led to action. One component of our booth is signs that read “”Slaves for Sale.”” Our intention is not to devalue the heinous historical treatment of enslaved African-Americans. We are advocating on behalf of the heinous treatment of human sex slaves today. Slavery still exists. Our respect for other cultures and human life leads us to use these provocative means to shake people (like me) out of apathy to engage with this issue of injustice that usually effects minority populations. If you are offended in any way by our signs, please stop by our table and hear about the approximately 15,000 people trafficked in America this year.

Please come do something about this by visiting our station on the Mall from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. What will you do with the power you have?

Theo Davis
Near Eastern studies senior

The value of civil liberties

How many constitutional rights am I willing to give up to fight terrorism? Zero. Mr. Hall (“”‘How about this one: terrorists will kill you’ “” Monday) seems to be quite carefree with the information that he is willing to share for the purpose of security. I have concerns with this security model. What makes the agencies in charge of handling the data trustworthy? The government’s endorsement? History shows us how little this endorsement can mean. I can think of plenty of ways that information such as bank account numbers or medical history could cause someone real problems if mishandled. With all of the recent data leaks by both government agencies and non-government agencies, this is not all that far-fetched. In this ever more fearful country, it seems many people would rather be safe than sorry. Mr. Hall professes that he is not a terrorist and has no plans to ever become one. If we continue to erode the steps of due process, however, we could end up jailing people like him simply because of misspoken or misinterpreted private telephone conversations. To me, that is terrifying. In the words of Benjamin Franklin, “”They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.””

Garrett Hoxie
senior majoring in computer science and Spanish

Drinking in the dorms

Dorm life at the UA is a key experience in a student’s freshman year. Living with someone in a small room, under the supervision of fellow UA students, is a rite of passage. There are obviously rules on alcohol and drugs in the dorms. Most rules are reasonable and easy to follow; however, there is one rule that proves unfair in many situations. A resident assistant has the authority to write up any student for drinking alcohol in the dorms; this is a fitting course of action since drinking is illegal for people under the age of 21. The RA will also write up everyone present however, even if some of these people are not taking part in the activity. Although in most cases everyone present does in fact deserve the citation, there are other situations where the other people are merely innocent bystanders hanging out with friends on a Friday night. In many situations a person will simply walk into a room to say “”Hi”” to friends, with no intention of participating in the drinking, and an RA will walk in directly after. No questions asked, the RA will write up that person along with the people actually deserving the citation. The innocent person is basically being punished for hanging out with his friends in the dorms on a Friday night. Even though it is only a dorm citation, they add up easily and you can be severely punished for a series of these incidents. Although it is difficult to sort out the innocent bystanders from the wrong-doers, there should be some system to better decipher between the two. This may seem trivial to those people who came up with this rule, but when you think about it, does it really makes sense for an innocent person to be punished for his friend’s bad decisions? As friends we do not have the power to make decisions for each other, so the actions of our peers are out of our control. As residents we should not have to sacrifice hanging out with our friends in fear that we will be punished for their wrong doings. A change needs to be made, because the way things are being handled now is unfair to those students who choose not to participate in underage drinking.

Annie Gould
pre-business freshman

Slavery still alive and well

Slavery didn’t end with the Emancipation Proclamation. Unfortunately, slavery is alive and well – 27 million people are in slavery in the world today, more than ever in human history. One woman, man or child is trafficked every minute for purposes of forced labor or sex slavery worldwide. Don’t think America is isolated from the problem either. It is estimated that 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States annually to be slaves. How can we call ourselves the Land of the Free in the face of such flippant injustice? Students have come together to create an interactive display about sex trafficking that will be on the UA Mall from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. all week. Stop by and sign our petition to the United Nations, and get involved in the fight against injustice.

Andrew Hall
international studies sophomore