Members of a UF fraternity used a children’s game to educate students about human trafficking Friday.
Omega Delta Phi held its first “Building a World Without Human Trafficking” to educate students about human trafficking on the Plaza of the Americas. The 60 silver and red blocks each had a fact about human trafficking. A student would read the block he or she picked before placing it back on the stack.
These blocks had information about modern slavery, as well as local and national statistics of human trafficking, said Dominique Lindsey-Gonzalez, 20, the external vice president and service chair of Omega Delta Phi and a UF sustainability in the built environment junior.
Rafael Cruzado, 27, the office manager for Multicultural and Diversity Affairs, pulled a red block from the wooden tower and said he was shocked when he read the statistics.
At the event, he learned human trafficking is a problem in Alachua County because of its proximity to Interstate 75, he said. He said he was surprised because Gainesville is a college town.
“I learned about an issue that is invisible in this community,” Cruzado said.
The organization wanted to educate students, said Jason Feliciano, the social media chair for Omega Delta Phi.
“People don’t know that it is still happening,” the 21-year-old UF public relations senior said. “Human trafficking is a very lucrative and dangerous business, and I think it needs to be talked about to give people the power to change it,” he said.
