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UI students call attention to human trafficking

For UI sophomore Kyra Seay, silence is not an option in raising awareness about modern-day slavery.

"I speak for those who don't have a voice," said the president of Students Abolishing Slavery. "I can't be quiet."

Human trafficking occurs worldwide, including in the United States. The student organization has called members of Congress to ensure the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 won't lose its funding today.

"It needs to be renewed because of the way trafficking is changing," Seay said.

According to the Trafficking in Persons report of 2004, more than 14,000 people are trafficked into the United States and 200,000 American children are at risk of sex-industry trafficking.

Traffickers use new media, such as Craig's List, Seay said. The Internet creates a more secretive environment where trafficking can easily go undetected, the 19-year-old said.

Elizabeth Heineman, a UI associate professor of history and gender, women, and sexuality studies, said the act supports three main elements: prevention, protection, and prosecution.

"Before, if a women, girl, or boy were to escape [trafficking] and would go to the police, they would be classified as illegal immigrants and deported," she said.

Deporting victims creates a dangerous cycle, risking more trafficking or being ostracized from home countries, Heineman said.

The act created a special visa, allowing trafficked victims to become temporary residents and help out with the prosecution process, she said.

Even so, she said, fewer than 2,000 such visas have been granted, while tens of thousands were trafficked in the United States every year since 2000.

"The visa is very important, but it is an important part of a larger fabric," Heineman said. "The [Trafficking Victims Protection Act] mandates much more prosecution than before.

Former Dillard's Hair Stylists Allege Discriminatory Practices at ...

The Dillard’s department store chain is the defendant in a federal class action lawsuit that was filed in April 2005, alleging racial discrimination and deceptive sales practices relating to the marketing and sale of beauty salon services. Dillard’s continues to deny these charges, but several former hairstylists from Dillard’s salons in Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee and Georgia confirm the racist practices alleged by plaintiffs. Unbelievably, Dillard’s has responded with sworn declarations which contain racist and inflammatory statements from its own current stylists.

One of the most offensive positions taken by Dillard’s is Dillard’s contention that the hair of African-Americans is dirtier than the hair of Caucasians. In a recent court filing, a current stylist from Dillard’s Jackson, MS salon where Plaintiff Artis Smith received services stated: “ I cannot shampoo an African-American customer in the same time as I can a Caucasian customer. It may take two or three shampoo applications to get the typical African-American customer’s hair clean but it may take less for Caucasian hair.”

Other current Dillard’s stylists have submitted written declarations to the court which contain statements such as “ethnic hair is harder to handle, coarser and breaks more easily.” This statement comes from a stylist at Dillard’s Madison Square Mall location in Huntsville, Alabama, where Plaintiff Sandra Moody experienced discrimination. Another current stylist from that same salon says “ In my experience, the hair of African-American customers takes longer to do. Also, more heat is needed to get it straight. I have found that the hair is more fragile and breakage is more likely to occur.” A Dillard’s stylist from Florence, AL states “I understand [ethnic hair to mean African-American hair, usually difficult to work with and tending to be dry, coarse and frizzy.

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