THE TUFTS DAILY
Sunny 49/32
VOLUME LXIII, NUMBER 11
Where You Read It First Est. 1980 TUFTSDAILY.COM
Friday, february 10, 2012
Love146 promotes awareness of child sex trafficking by Shana
Friedman
Daily Editorial Board
Tufts’ chapter of Love146, an international non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to the abolition of child sex slavery and exploitation, last night hosted a Valentine’s Day event in order to promote awareness of the Love146 organization on campus and spread its message about the eradication of child sex trafficking. The event, titled “Broken Hearts: Something Worth Celebrating,” was held in the Sophia Gordon Multipurpose Room. “We’re celebrating our broken hearts because out of our broken hearts comes compassion,” Jane Jihae Yoon, the founder of the Tufts’ chapter of Love146, said. The evening opened with screenings of two short promotional videos for Love146 that emphasized the organization’s mission and message. Members of the Tufts chapter then explained how they became involved with the issue, and the event concluded with an informal dialogue inspired by discussion questions placed throughout the venue.
Yoon, a senior, started the Tufts Love146 chapter after being sexually assaulted on campus during the fall of her junior year by a student from a different university. She spoke calmly about her experience and then described the circumstances that surround child sex slavery. “They’re forced to have abortions in the brothels so that they can be continued to be sold over and over again,” Yoon said. “Some girls are sold up to ten times a night. When the girls are taken out of the brothels, they want to commit suicide, even in safe homes.” Vanessa Lin, who helped coordinate the event, explained that her involvement in Love146 at Tufts started when she watched the film “Taken,” which chronicles two American girls’ abductions into the sex slave trade overseas. The story the film told, though fictional, captured her attention. “My heart was just gripped. It was more than a cinematic emotional experience, and it wasn’t just Hollywood,” Lin, a sophomore, said. “I couldn’t comprehend the fact that I could have been that girl,” she said. The Tufts Love146 chapter’s status as a
campus organization is pending official recognition, according to Yoon, making it currently ineligible for Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate funding. Student organizers covered the costs associated with last night’s event. “Everything is coming out of our own pockets, but we don’t mind at all because this is something we really believe in,” Yoon told the Daily. The event’s fundraising efforts constituted postcard and t-shirt sales, and the first $350 in proceeds will be diverted to reimburse the student organizers for the costs of organizing the event. The remainder will be donated to the cause of ending child sex trafficking. Students in attendance emphasized their belief that this organization represents a critical opportunity to address a pertinent issue. “My mom was a domestic violence lawyer so we talked about these issues a lot, but I never felt like I did anything about it,” Jordan Anderson, a freshman, told the Daily. “This organization gave me the opportunity to change that.” The event served not only to raise aware-
ness of child sex trafficking but also to further establish the Tufts chapter of the organization as a fixture on campus. “I think as a group we’re just starting up at Tufts, so I see this as a first contact for people to learn about the issues, the group and Love146 apart from Tufts,” Elaine Kim, a junior in charge of design and marketing for the group and an organizer of last night’s event, told the Daily. Yoon further explained the group’s mission and its attitude toward raising awareness and generating activism. “We don’t just want people to come and donate a twenty-dollar bill and walk out and not have experienced something for themselves,” she told the Daily. “Love146 is about creating an experience for people that come to our events. We want them to feel like they’re a part of it and that they’re getting something out of giving.” “Our hope is that everyone who comes to our event will have their heart break for these children and that any giving that they do or raising awareness that they do after will be out of compassion,” she added.
Steer discusses World Bank’s efforts on climate control by
Brionna Jimerson
Daily Editorial Board
World Bank Special Envoy for Climate Change Andrew Steer visited the Hill last night to discuss the World Bank’s initiatives and work concerning climate change and the intersection of policy and action in controlling its effects. The lecture was part of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy Professor William Moomaw’s Sustainable Development Diplomacy course. Moomaw is also the director of the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy at the Fletcher School. Steer’s position with the World Bank is equivalent to vice-president of the organization, according to Moomaw. At the World Bank, Steer directs and implements plans in over 130 countries with regard to creating a more environmentally conscious attitude toward climate, overseeing the $6.5 billion dollar Climate Investment Funds. With more than three years of experience in the World Bank and in diplomacy concerning environmental and resource policy, Steer brought his expertise to Tufts and discussed the urgency of creating effective policy and supporting grassroots and national-level organizations. “There are two worlds: negotiation and action,” Steer said. “We’re hoping to bring the action into negotiation to create something that gives us a chance.” He noted that there is a distinct difference between policy and implementation. “There are many dimensions to what the World Bank is doing,” he added. “We look at the science of climate change, and we can’t afford to wait … By 2015, we shouldn’t be getting [international] agreements to address climate change, but doing something.” Steer began the lecture by drawing a distinction between present and past attitudes toward climate control. Nations and their leaders seek input from the World Bank when creating climate-related policies and providing financial backing for projects that research and take action to reverse issues such as global warming and rising sea levels. “Fifty years ago, there was a belief that cli-
mate control was a problem for rich people,” he said. “Ten years ago, 10 percent of our clients worldwide said ‘climate control is so important; it should be one of the top four things we work on.’ Last year, 95 percent said ‘please make climate change one of the top three or four things you’re working on.’” He noted that the goal is to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius, though he thinks that a more realistic expectation would be a four-degree increase. “This is not about tweaking at the margins; we can’t gradually do it differently,” he said. “These are choices, and you can’t straddle between two paths very long.” Steer cited successful endeavors in South Africa, Qatar and China but said that the organization still has a long way to go in stopping climate change. “The bad news is, even with all of our plans added together, with the most optimistic agenda, we’re nowhere close to where we want to be,” Steer said. Steer discussed the emotional and economic devastation that often accompanies unsuccessful planning and policy reform. “To allow negotiations to throw away our futures … it’s a great tragedy,” he said. “It is important we do not lose that in our sophisticated diplomacy. Let’s not forget there are issues of justice here and issues related to our children, and our children’s children.” The event drew approximately 50 attendees — a mix of graduate and undergraduate students along with residents of the surrounding communities. Moomaw implements and arranges such events to provide students with a grounded image and understanding of the career opportunities and realities of those endeavoring to change and improve the global approach to climate change. “The course plays back and forth between reading articles and discussions, and we’re having people here who are doing this stuff,” Moomaw said. “In the conversation surrounding climate control, there’s nothing about the World Bank, yet the World Bank is doing so much, and it’s working in many ways on the international level. We talk about this as a theoretical concept, but it’s actually see STEER, page 2
Inside this issue
Courtesy of Justin McCallum
The winners of Rooftop Comedy’s Tufts University Talent Search (Max Cohen, Ian Donovan, Haydn Forrest, Bradley Frizzell, Clay Grable, Matthew Nazarian, Aliza Small and Sam Zuckert) will go on to compete against Emerson College at Improv Boston on Tuesday, March 27 in the TBS National College Comedy Competition.
New OEO Director Zellmer plans to focus on Title IX by Victoria
Leistman
Daily Editorial Board
Jill Zellmer in November became the new director of the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO), filling a position that was left vacant for seven months prior. The previous director, Jacqueline Hymes, left Tufts in March of 2011, forcing the university to begin the extensive process of finding a new director, according to Michael Baenen, University President Anthony Monaco’s chief of staff. “In order to conduct a thorough search at a director level, it is not unusual for the process to take six or more months,” Baenen told the Daily in an email. Zellmer was ultimately chosen for the position based on her extensive prior experience in the field, according to Baenen. “She was chosen due to her significant expertise in the anti-discrimination and sexual harassment field, including deep familiarity with federal, state and
local laws and regulations; extensive experience in designing, developing and implementing training programs; direct case management experience and excellent communications skills,” Baenen said. Zellmer previously worked at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. She then worked on international investigations of discrimination, harassment, fraud and embezzlement at the corporate level, accruing 15 years of experience in the field before applying for her position at Tufts. “I’ve been in several different kinds of settings doing the same work, and I love what I do,” she said. The most pressing issue Zellmer has found at Tufts is devising a plan to implement Title IX regulations, she said. Title IX is a federal gender-equality law prohibiting sex discrimination in educational programs and institutions. see OEO, page 2
Today’s sections
Goldfrapp’s latest compilation includes some hits but ultimately falls short of its potential.
The Jumbos square off with an unfamiliar and hungry NESCAC foe in the Hamilton Continentals.
see ARTS, page 3
see SPORTS, Back
News Arts & Living Comics
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Classifieds Sports
7 Back