Spring Arbor University’s (SAU) annual FOCUS series is Feb. 28-29. Human trafficking, including forced labor and the sex trade, will be the topic for this campus-wide event. Slavery on a domestic and international level will be discussed.
“FOCUS is a day when we cancel classes, and we set aside some really intentional time to talk specifically about a issue we think is important in the world and very relevant to our community,” said one of the event’s coordinators, SAU professor Mary Darling.
The FOCUS series will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. with a showing of the documentary, “Not My Life,” in the White Auditorium. The documentary will be shown again at 10 p.m.
Classes will not meet on Wednesday during the day, though night classes still meet.
Wednesday will be a full day of workshops from university faculty and guest speakers. SAU students Andrew VanValin and David Shinabarger will be leading seminars also.
VanValin, a senior secondary education social studies major, will be examining local human trafficking. His seminar, “Asian Massage Parlors and Possible Faces of Slavery in Jackson,” will take place in room 111 of the Smith Music Center (SMC).
Shinabarger, a junior global studies major, will be focusing on how the banana industry in Latin America affects human rights and how it can lead to human trafficking. The goal of his presentation is to “figure out what we, as American consumers, can do to fight global problems like human trafficking.”
Shinabarger will also be exploring how the infrastructure of Central American “banana republics” exist exclusively to export their products and the financial matters surrounding foreign investors.
He hopes the seminar would attract “college students who want to do something actively in social justice at a global level.” Shinabarger’s seminar, “Unpeeling the Banana Industry and Human Rights Violations in Latin America,” will take place in POL 303.
Seminars will also take place in the Poling Center for Global Studies (POL), Whitman-Gibbs Science Center (WG) and SMC.
Mark Wexler, the executive director and co-founder of Not For Sale, will give the keynote address “Abolitionist Reality Check: An Honest Assessment of the Anti-Slavery Movement Today and Where We Need to go Tomorrow” at 11 a.m. Feb. 29 at the Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church (SAFMC) sanctuary.
SAU has been setting aside a FOCUS day each school year for at least the last 40 years, but FOCUS on Freedom will be the largest to date due in part to the involvement of the SAFMC’s Set Free committee.
Activities will continue into Wednesday afternoon with seminars featuring Mark Wexler and Leslie King-Borrego, founder and CEO of Sacred Beginnings Women’s Transitional Program in Grand Rapids, Mich.
The series will conclude with the “Next Steps” Fair, outlining specific options to assist in become involved with the modern day abolition movement. Door prizes will be available at this event. A play, “Holy Motion,” will be performed in the Prop Shop that evening. Look for more information about this event as the date nears.
All of the events are free of charge and attendance is not limited to SAU students. Community members are encouraged to attend.
Additional information and a detailed schedule of events can be found on www.arbor.edu or by searching “Focus on Freedom: Ending Modern Day Slavery” on Facebook.
