4-18-19

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THURSDAY, APRIL 5

THURSDAY, APRIL 18 CEDAR FALLS, IA NISG cabinet members 2 Importance of political discussion 3 INSIDE THIS ISSUE

VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42

VOLUME 115, ISSUE 50 ‘Serse’ review 4 Women’s MVC golf 6

UNI alum brings documentary to Lang ELIZABETH KELSEY Staff Writer

“Every single person will walk out of this place completely changed,” said UNI alum Vanessa McNeal, addressing the packed Lang Hall Auditorium at 6 p.m. on Monday night. The crowd of students, alumni and community members had come to experience the free screening of McNeal’s documentary “Gridshock: A Film About Sex Trafficking in Iowa.” “We know this is a global issue; we know this is a national issue,” said Alan Heisterkamp, director of the Center for Violence Prevention at UNI. “And we’re going to see in a few minutes how it’s happening right here in Iowa as well.” McNeal said she was drawn to the issue after hearing a class presentation about the sex trafficking epidemic while pursuing her master’s degree in social work (MSW) at UNI. She also has personal connections to the issue, having been sexually abused, neglected and sexually assaulted at a young age.

“I spent so many years trying to find wholeness in my life,” she said. After completing her MSW, she founded her media company, McNeal Media, in 2017, and produced her first award-winning documentary, “The Voiceless,” which focused on male sexual assault survivors. “Gridshock” is her most recent project. To fund the film’s production, from December 2017 to February 2018, McNeal and her team set a 60-day, allor-nothing goal of $35,000 on indiegogo.com If the goal wasn’t met in that time frame, all donations would be returned “and we wouldn’t be standing here today,” she said. Thanks to over 300 donors, the team reached their goal, and spent the last year producing Gridshock, a 55-minute film that explores “what [sex trafficking] really is, who it benefits and who it targets.” The film featured interviews with three survivors of sex trafficking, as well as politicians, advocates, law enforcement and a recovering sex addict. One of the

GABRIELLE LEITNER/Northern Iowan

UNI alum Vanessa McNeal screened her documentary Gridshock: A Film About Sex Trafficking in Iowa on Monday, April 15.

three survivors, Waterloo native Heather Rios, attended Monday’s event and participated in a post-film Q&A panel with McNeal and Karen Siler, a representative of local resource service Friends of the Family. After a few brief introduc-

tory questions, the floor was opened for audience questions. When asked what college students can do to help, McNeal highlighted the need for awareness. “I think the awareness piece is just the biggest thing that we can do. That sounds

really flimsy, and I wish that I had something more substantial, but I think that it’s so important that we just continue to talk about what it really is and just have those conversations,” she said. See GRIDSHOCK, page 2

Walking out of the darkness for suicide prevention LEZIGA BARIKOR Staff Writer

This story contains content about suicide that some readers may find disturbing. Discretion is advised. “There’s a proverb that offers, tell me a fact and I will learn it. Tell me the truth and I shall believe it. But tell me a story, and it will live in my heart,” said Michael Zibilich, keynote speaker from Active Minds at the Out of Darkness Walk for Suicide Prevention. “Today I hope to tell you a story that will touch your heart, your mind and your soul. A tragic and personal story. A story about suicide. A subject not easy to talk about, or frankly, to listen to. “It is however, a necessary story. A story that has but one simple clear objective today. To make you a first responder in your life and in those you know and love.” This past Sunday, April 14, Cedar Falls community members gathered for the Out of the Darkness Walk for Suicide Prevention. The event offered

SOFIA LEGASPI/Northern Iowan

professional resources for those struggling or wanting to help support those struggling with mental health issues, as well as raise money for mental health services. This year, the organizers set the goal of raising $25,000. That goal was reached by Sunday before the walk even

started, according to Steven Dreesman, graduate student and event organizer. Overall, the event surpassed their goal and raised $26,170, which will be divided into funding mental health research, programs and advocacy on the federal and state levels through the American Foundation for

Suicide Prevention. Many of those coordinating and volunteering at the event were UNI students in graduate school for clinical psychology and members of the Upsilon Nu Iota chapter of Chi Sigma Iota, an international honor society for professional counselors. Committee mem-

bers included Sam Galema, Jamie Dhabalt, Hailie Carlson, Porsha Ishbell and Chelsea Siefken. This year’s event featured more interactive resources for people to become more educated on mental health. One activity was a tent filled with different colored walls to show attendees the scientific side of mental health issues. There were also massages, crafting stations and games for all ages. Another key goal of the event was to de-stigmatize mental health issues. One way that attendees were encouraged to do so was by choosing colored beaded necklaces to wear. Each color represented a story: White for the loss of a child, purple for the loss of a relative or friend, green for a personal struggle and many more colors which are described on the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention website’s for the event. The keynote speaker wore white beads to represent his story. See DARKNESS, page 4


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