This year, they’re standing for 24 hours to represent each day a person spends in slavery, from noon April 9 to noon April 10.
Stephanie Metzger, the president of IJM, said each IJM chapter does this event around this time each year.
“There are more people in slavery today than in human history, and I don’t think I can stand by and not do something about it,” Metzger said.
By having the 24-hour event, Metzger said it helps unify the campus around this cause.
Members of IJM, players from the football team, members of student organizations and students passing by were holding up signs, encouraging cars to “honk for freedom” and asking students to sign their petition.
The petition is asking legislators to support the End Modern Slavery Initiative Act of 2015.
“It’s easy to think human trafficking only affects other countries, but it happens here as well,” Metzger said. “I feel like if we – the young and [educated] and aware people – if we don’t fight, who will?”
There are an estimated 35.8 million people held in slavery in the world today, and over 60,000 of them are in the U.S., according to the 2014 Global Slavery Index.
“The only way to [change things] is by raising awareness,” Metzger said. “We can’t cause positive change unless people are aware. We want people to know what they can do. This is a tangible way to do something by getting politically involved.”
Lauren Baney, a junior health science major, has been a member of IJM for two years now. She came to the Scramble Light around noon and, with the exception of her April 9 classes, was planning on staying until around midnight or 1 a.m. to help spread awareness.
“Human trafficking is such an undercover crime,” Baney said. “Bringing awareness of it to this campus is really great, which is why us being present on campus is so important.”
Peyton Schneider, a sophomore criminal justice and psychology major, said she did not know modern slavery was an issue until a friend told her about it. She stopped to sign the petition April 9.
“If there’s anything possible I can do about it, it’s kind of my responsibility to do it,” Schneider said. “If we can raise awareness, we should.”
She said raising awareness was something college kids were especially good at, and is the first step to making a change.
“We’re the ones about to go into the world, and if we’re aware of the issue and are making the decisions to stop it, then there’s no way we aren’t making a difference,” she said.
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