INSIDE • Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 2 • Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 3 • Winterglow . . . . . . . . . PAGE 4 • Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE 6 • Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGES 7 & 8
THEVISTA University of Central Oklahoma
Page 8
TUESDAY• November 27, 2012
The Student Voice Since 1903
WWW.UCENTRALMEDIA.COM
Mens basketball season in full swing
M O D E R N D AY SL AVERY The investigation of a missing Oklahoma teen sheds light on human trafficking in the state. JaRay Wilson, 16, went missing on Oct. 15. Investigators believe Wilson’s disappearance may be tied to the human trafficking trade. Photos provided
• JOSH WALLACE, Staff Writer • Recently, two cases in Oklahoma have highlighted an issue most people don’t know is happening in our country. The most recent case, the Oct. 15 disappearance of 16-year-old Weatherford native, JaRay Wilson, has gained national attention, and most notably for what investigators are saying the motive might be, human trafficking. Shortly after her disappearance, law enforcement received details on how Wilson was either being held against her will or had already been sold by traffickers in Oklahoma City. Since then, her family has been reaching out for any information on their daughter, plastering billboards around the metro with her image and a brief physical description. Wilson’s disappearance echoes that of another recent case that garnered national attention, that of Mustang teenager Carina Saunders. Saunders’ dismembered body was discovered behind a grocery store in Bethany on Oct. 13, 2011. Authorities have said that Saunders’ murder was directly tied to a drug and human trafficking ring here in the metro, and that according to information gathered from witnesses and the two men held in connection with her death, she was killed as an example of those who would try to defy the traffickers.
It is believed that both girls were targeted for sex trafficking, one of the many forms of human trafficking, which is at its core, slavery. The 2012 U.S. Department of State (USDS) Trafficking in Persons Report describes the crime within our country, stating, “The United States is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children – both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals – subjected to forced labor, debt bondage, involuntary servitude, and sex trafficking. Trafficking in persons can occur in many licit and illicit industries or markets, including in brothels, massage parlors, street prostitution, hotel services, hospitality, agriculture, manufacturing, janitorial services, construction, health and elder care, and domestic service, among others.” Once the crime that plagued developing nations across Europe, and countries south of the U.S., human trafficking has become a serious issue within the United States, and Wilson and Saunders’ cases have shined a light on an illicit industry that has developed under the radar for years. The USDS’s report outlines that in 2011, The Department of Justice (DOJ) had reported over 900 investigations on the issue, with 1,350 suspects. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated 722 cases, and the FBI had 337 open
UCO TO SEND AID TO HURRICANE SANDY VICTIMS
John Hardy, left, and his son, Liam, 13, visit the charred remains of his wife’s parents home in the Breezy Point section of the Queens borough of New York, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012. A fire destroyed more than 100 homes in the oceanfront community during Superstorm Sandy. UCO will ship relief kits to victims beginning in December. Donations are still being taken by the Volunteer and Service Learning Center. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
cases “with suspected adult and foreign minor victims.” By the end of the year, the DOJ had charged individuals in 42 cases involving forced labor and sex trafficking, and had reached convictions in 70 cases from the previous year, half of which were sex trafficking and the other half involving labor trafficking. Although there have been more charges and convictions in recent years, the number of actual cases that go on day to day are thought to be in the thousands, far outnumbering the cases investigated each year. The National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) has a hotline for those to call in tips or for those in trafficking situations to reach out for help, and each year the number of calls have been steadily rising. For 2008, the hotline received 5,748 calls related to human trafficking issues; by 2011, the figure had skyrocketed to 19,427 calls. If you suspect anyone you know or have seen might be a victim of human trafficking, you can contact the NHTRC via their hotline at 1-8883737-888. If you recognize Wilson’s image and have any information about her whereabouts, contact local authorities immediately.
• LUKE LOFTISS, Contributing Writer • UCO’s own Volunteer and Service Learning Center (VSLC) has joined the national effort to provide relief for those affected by Hurricane Sandy. Between Wednesday, Nov. 7 and Friday, Nov. 16 the VSLC worked in conjunction with the Edmond community and the Church World Service, an interdenominational group of churches which help organize humanitarian relief efforts across the globe, to hold a donation drive which collected items to produce relief kits for the victims of last month’s disaster. The VSLC collected items to be put into cleanup and personal hygiene kits and sent to the victims affected by Hurricane Sandy. Scouring pads, dust masks, work gloves, clothespins, toothbrushes, dish soap, bath soap, bandages, washcloths and towels are among the items that the VSLC collected. Monetary donations were also accepted to help alleviate shipping costs and to pad out the relief kits. The donated items were grouped together and packed into kits during “The Little Event” on Saturday, Nov. 17. Twenty-one completed kits were assembled during the event and many partially completed kits still remain. Those who wish to donate items can still do so. The VSLC is still in need of supplies to complete the rest of the kits. Hand towels, nail clippers, combs, bandages, toothbrushes and soap are all needed. Items can be dropped off either at the Nigh University Center Room 212 or the Lillard Administration Building Room 104. Once the kits are
completed they will be sent to the affected areas. The VSLC’s goal is to have them ready to ship by December. The donated kits will provide cleanup tools for those working in the affected areas or living in shelters, churches or temporary housing provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Volunteers along the east coast and the Caribbean have begun work to renovate water and wind damaged homes and business and demolish those buildings too far gone to be saved. According to the Assistant Director of the VSLC, Rachel Winters, “The Little Event was the first of its kind. Not only did students assemble kits of donated items for Hurricane Sandy Relief, they completed a variety of projects all across campus to say, ‘Thank You’ to UCO. For example, students helped organize and stock the newly opened Central Pantry and did a campus-wide trash cleanup to help beautify campus for WinterGlow. The Big Event Executive Team organized the volunteer projects for The Little Event.” Big Event Chair Elect Joel Richardson said “The Little Event was a huge success and we look forward to the Big Event in March.” Winters said that the event was good practice for the organizers of the VSLC’s annual Big Event, a day of volunteer service held each March at UCO. Hurricane Sandy is currently ranked as the largest Atlantic Hurricane on record and the second most destructive hurricane ever Continued on page 4