Kent State University’s School of Communication Studies hosted its Global Issues Forum on Human Trafficking: A Global and Local Epidemic on April 6 in the Moulton Ballroom. The forum brought together more than 100 faculty, staff, students and community members to hear from a panel of professionals who have encountered human trafficking in their careers.
The panelists for the evening include:
•Kathleen Chandler. Currently serving on the Board of County Commissioners. She was elected in 2005 to the Ohio House of Representatives where she crafted legislation to make human trafficking a crime.
•Eric Heisig. Federal courts reporter for cleveland.com. He wrote a series of articles about a human trafficking ring that brought young Guatemalans to the U.S. and forced them to work on egg farms in central Ohio. He has also written about other cases involving sex and labor trafficking.
•Jason Motlagh. Award-winning writer, photographer and filmmaker. Formerly TIME Magazine’s Kabul correspondent, he has reported from more than forty countries for leading U.S. and international media. He is also a Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting journalist. His work for the Pulitzer Center focused on many topics including human trafficking.
The panelists shared how their careers intersected with human trafficking and then answered a variety of questions on the topic. All agreed that education on human trafficking is most critical for its prevention.
The School of Communication Studies’ ongoing Global Issues Forum brings Pulitzer Center reporters to campus who offer personal and professional perspectives on how a news story is covered. The ongoing forum is an integral part of the school’s curriculum which includes a global communication major that prepares students to think critically and communicate globally. Previous forums have focused on the topics of fracking, women and children’s issues and the refugee crisis.
Footage from the forum is available at: http://bit.ly/22h2nRJ.