Students and faculty across the University of San Francisco are joining the fight against human trafficking, from athletes raising money as part of the “Free to Play” campaign to students in the Erasmus living-learning community spearheading a database project to map slavery in San Francisco.
“I really believe we can end slavery in our time,” said sophomore Margot Kenney, who is working on the Erasmus mapping project. “For me, this is not just what I’m doing in college, but my career that I’m starting to build. This is my path, my career, my vocation.”
As part of the project, students are researching where human trafficking exists in San Francisco. Through interviews with journalists and social workers and reviews of court records, the students are creating a database of business establishments and other locations in the Bay Area that have been linked to forced labor.
“In the course of researching my book, I continually heard that trafficking works because it’s invisible,” said David Batstone, who with Mike Duffy, director of the Joan and Ralph Lane Center for Catholic Studies and Social Thought, teaches the Erasmus course. “We want to make it visible.”
In May, the students will travel to Cambodia for a two-week tour delving into the realities of human trafficking. They will learn about modern slavery through visits with undercover investigators, the Hagar apparel company that employs emancipated slaves, and other groups.
Exercise and Sport Science Professor Jeremy Howell is spearheading the “Free to Play” campaign, part of the larger “Not for Sale” movement led by Batstone, to raise money for nonprofit organizations fighting human trafficking. USF’s women’s soccer team, for example, has signed on, pledging to make donations for every goal scored this season. Olympic figure skater Brian Boitano, one of the first professional athletes to join the campaign, is making a contribution for every triple jump he executes.
The International Children’s Games has adopted Free to Play as a key theme for its games that will be held in San Francisco next summer.
“Free to Play connects with people who are socially conscious but don’t usually join campaigns because it’s so removed from what they do,” Howell said. “Sports has been an important part of so many people’s lives that they really identify with making sure all children are free to play. The visceral response is, ‘Yes, how can I help?’”
For more on Free to Play and the Not for Sale Campaign, go to www.notforsalecampaign.org.
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