Ka Lā February 2018

Page 1

Whereʻs the love? Look on Page 4-5

A Student Publication of the University of Hawai'i • Honolulu Community College • February 2018

#StopHumanTrafficking

Photo courtesy dailyheadlines.net

By Fredrene Balanay

You meet a guy, online or at the mall. A total stranger. He tells you you’re pretty. He asks you on a date. You talk for hours like he really knows you. You feel connected. Time passes and you continue to see each other. By now he knows everything about you. He showers you with gifts, compliments you in every way. Somehow you know he’s ‘the one.‘ You end up leaving home with nowhere to go. He takes you in, promises to take care of you; provides you with clothes, food,

shelter and all the affection you need. He’s everything you want, trust and rely on. You feel like you found love. Then one night he asks you for a favor. He wants you to meet a few more of his friends. You think nothing of it at first. You agree. You’re at the party and things start to get uncomfortable. His friend is all over you, you talk to him and ask to go home. He ignores you gives you more to drink and continues talking with his friends. You ask again and suddenly he slaps you and his friends laugh.

You don’t know what just happened or why he suddenly seems so different. He orders you to have sex with his friend. You refuse. He threatens your life. You refuse. He threatens your little sister and says he will find her and make her do it instead. He threatens your parents. He reminds you he knows where they live. Also that you have nowhere else to go. Confused and scared you quietly does as he asks. You are no longer his girlfriend, you are now his asset, his sex slave. You have been abducted into a life of pros-

titution against your will. You have just become another sex trafficking victim. “Students should know that human traffickers do not appear to be human traffickers,” said HonCC’s philosophy instructor Chris Moore. “If you’re not being kidnapped or shanghaied somewhere, you are being groomed.” Grooming, or “boyfriending,” is

a process in which the potential victim is charmed and made to Continued on Page 6

Rose petals bloom from copper metal

By Jonz Stoneroad and Chris Garcia

It’s that time of the year for the HonCC Sheet Metal shop to host their annual Red Copper Roses fundraiser. Sheet Metal and Plastics Technology has been selling these roses since 2012. Sheet metal students convey their teamwork skills to reach the project’s deadline. They offer more than just a product; they craft one-

of-a-kind symbols of affection within a warehouse environment. “The roses aren’t exclusively for Valentine’s Day but can be gifts for Mother’s Day and even Memorial Day,” says Sheet Metal and Plastics Instructor Danny Aiu. Aiu adds that some people choose to give copper roses because they last longer than real roses.

Continued on Page 3

Photo Courtesy of University of Hawai'i News


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.