Elementary education junior Marsha Tam sits chained to a mattress in order to help raise awareness of the global sex trafficking industry Wednesday afternoon outside Wells Hall.
With their black shirts and numerous proxy stations around campus, the MSU Price of Life Invitational is aiming to inform students about sex slavery and human trafficking around the world and in the United States.
The week-long event combines interactive features with hard facts to generate awareness.
“I believe that American college students are the best cult for stopping child sex slavery,” said event director York Moore, who explained college students are the decision-makers of the future.
Since Tuesday, several niche events and proxy stations have sprung up all over campus, leading to the main event scheduled for 8 p.m. today in the Big Ten room of the Kellogg Center.
“When I saw the list of statistics, I was surprised at how many people are affected around the world and especially around the country,” said Amanda Phelps, a pre-dental freshman who volunteered to pose as a slave chained to a bed in order to provide visual awareness.
The main event features dancing, poetry and singing competitions. This allows students to more easily understand the issues of trafficking and slavery, and recognize what can be done to combat them, Moore said.
A game show similar to “The Price is Right” will provide images and facts regarding sex slavery and quiz students on their knowledge of the issue while spreading awareness to the audience.
“Instead of educating people on products, we’ll be educating them on trafficking and what’s being done to prevent it,” Moore said.
The event is being sponsored by several Christian organizations around campus. All proceeds benefit the International Justice Mission, an organization that works with the prevention of slavery and trafficking around the world.
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