I’m a
professor. I’m used to standing at the
front of a classroom full of students and guiding them through the material
that I want them to master. I decide what
is important for students to learn, what they will read and how to run the
classroom – whether to lecture or have class discussion. I assign and evaluate work. Frankly, I’m used to being in charge. So when my Human Rights students decided to
organize an anti-trafficking event for a class advocacy project, I struggled
with letting go. Now don’t get me wrong.
I was thrilled that they chose to confront human trafficking and I was excited
about the prospect of expanding the circle of anti-trafficking advocates among
our youth. But the assignment required
that the students take the lead – it was a real life test to see if they could
translate what they have learned about human rights advocacy in the classroom
into an effective event in real life. My
job was only to serve as a consultant.
My job is to follow wherever they led.
So why did
I have a knot growing in the pit of my stomach?
Advocates in the fight against human trafficking have been struggling
against the problem of misinformation, and especially with the promotion of
myths that have become conventional wisdoms – but are wrong. These myths, when presented as truths, can
actually hurt the anti-trafficking movement and human trafficking victims. I am passionate about the fight against human
trafficking in Michigan and so it was important to me for the students to “get
it right.” I couldn’t do the work for
them, but left completely on their own they might actually perpetuate some of
these myths? What was a professor to do?
Over the
course of several weeks, I fretted. I
watched students search for information online and integrate inaccurate or
misleading information into their materials and presentations. I asked probing questions and challenged
source material. I asked them to
corroborate sources. I gave them advice
– they only sometimes followed it. I
offered list of experts – they did not reach out to experts. Honestly, there
was a moment when I wondered whether or not I should let them proceed with the
event. After all, our task force is
deeply committed to accuracy and we know bad information is
counterproductive. I kept asking hard
questions. It was a slow and sometimes
painful process but in the end I followed and they led. So what happened?
The event
titled #NotinMIstate was an overwhelming success. A class of 18 students directly
touched more than 100 people and mobilized them to take action. They produced educational materials that drew
attention to BOTH labor and sex trafficking in Michigan. They personalized and humanized the crime of
trafficking and showed participants that it happens everywhere – including in
their own communities. They got
participants involved in actually doing something to respond. They asked participants to dip their hand in
red paint and stamp it on a giant map of Michigan to visually show where
trafficking happens. Students took
photos of participants holding posters stating “I stand against human trafficking”
and asked them to make it their social media profile – people did. They created
hashtags - #Ithappenshere and
#NotinMIstate to educate their peers that while human trafficking happens in
Michigan, it shouldn’t. They collected
nearly 200 letters addressed to Senator Peters and Senator Stabenow advocating
for victim-centered legislation. The students’ efforts had a snowballing effect. Those they reached spread the message through
social media and word of mouth, maximizing the impact. In short, students and I both learned that they
could make an impact and that they didn’t need to wait until they became the
experts to do something about human trafficking.
In sum, students
can contribute in creative ways to the anti-trafficking movement. They bring originality, passion and creative
potential to the table. They develop ideas we don’t think of and can reach
audiences we can’t reach on our own.
Youth listen to the voices of other youth better than they listen to us
and their voices bring a credibility and legitimacy that we won’t achieve with
the same audience. Youth don’t
communicate and use media the same way we do.
They have technical skill sets and social media savvy that many of us in
a different generation do not. Finally,
they are passionate, have a lot of energy and retain a fair amount of optimism
about the world.
TAKE
ACTION:
If you are
a practitioner in the anti-trafficking movement consider actively seeking
students out to involve them in your work.
Hire them as employees and interns.
Brainstorm ways to make them a partner in the conversation about human
trafficking and not simply just slot them into your existing work plan. Consider the contribution students might make
to your work if you added them to your Board of Directors or added a youth
representative to your regional task force. These actions might mean taking a risk
and investing in a student who may only be with you for a short while but I
think it is worth it.
Carrie Booth Walling is an Associate
Professor of Political Science at Albion College and member of the Michigan
Human Trafficking Task Force
