By Jessica Bogie
CCC Journalism Program
BLACKWOOD – Phi Theta Kappa, Alpha Nu Mu chapter will be hosting the first Honors in Action seminar in history to be held on the Camden County College campus. The topic of the event will involve the scourge of human trafficking in the digital age.
The two main organizers, co-presidents Marcus Biddle and Wendy Gallagher, are both excited to be hosting the event, which will take place Nov. 10. “We hope that people will learn more about human trafficking and will realize what a pressing issue it is around the world, including America,” says Biddle.
The program will involve a daytime and a nighttime conference. The daytime portion will deal with student club presentations on human trafficking. A few clubs who will be presenting include the International Club, who will be displaying maps of countries where human trafficking exists. The Christian Connection Club will be showing maps of organizations and missionary groups that fight against human trafficking. The Owning Our Ignorance Club will be exhibiting a poster about the Give Well website, which shows what donation organizations are more legitimate or illegitimate.
The nighttime conference will be showcasing three guest speakers. One speaker, Kim Sykes, will be speaking on behalf of the Coalition against Trafficking in Women. “The Coalition is an organization that promotes women’s rights by working internationally to fight sexual exploitation in all its forms,” the group says on its website.
The other two speakers, Kaitlyn Keisel-Stagnone and Cristal Solorio, will be speaking on behalf of the Polaris Project. The Polaris Project is the best known anti human trafficking organization in Washington, D.C.
“The evening program will spread the word about the issue of human trafficking in the digital age,” says Gallagher. Not only will the viewers learn about human trafficking, but they will also learn about the negatives of sharing personal information online. “The evening program will give the audience a healthy scare that will cause them to become more aware of the kind of information they spread in the virtual world,” says Biddle.
The event will take place on Nov. 10 on the Blackwood campus of Camden County College. The daytime conference will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Madison Connector Building, and the nighttime conference will be from 7 to 9 p.m. in Civic Hall. Admission to the event is free. Anyone, including non-students, may attend the event. For more information, one may contact co-presidents Marcus Biddle at Marcus.Biddle378@students.camdencc.edu or Wendy Gallagher at Wendy.Gallagher212@students.camdencc.edu.
Co-president of Phi Theta Kappa Marcus Biddle and club officer Gina Brining go over logistics of the upcoming event with event flyers in hand. By Jessica Bogie, CCC Journalism Program