Imagine a world where all children have the ability to be kids, instead of having to fight for their freedom. Now, imagine the courtyard of DeMoss filled with more than 200 college students gathered together to support one great cause — to end the child sex trade.

The Helms School of Government and the Liberty School of Law banded together to host the Red Event, a concert with a cause, this past weekend. The free concert on April 3 featured The Fostered, Point of Honor, Humble T.I.P. and The Rory Tyer Band. The mix of light Christian rock, hard rock, Christian rap and acoustic folk music drew a broad spectrum of students for the same cause.

“It was for a great cause — a lot of time was spent getting the word out,” sophomore Nick Pavlovic said. “I think the ultimate goal to educate was achieved. I definitely learned a lot this weekend.”

“The Red Event did a fantastic job of breaking the grip of apathy that currently affects many Liberty students,” senior Matthew Raposas said. “I believe that this cause is an important one. In eliminating the evils of the child sex trade and human trafficking, we help preserve the innocence that these women and children should be entitled to, regardless of poverty and other issues.”

Throughout the world, children as young as three years old are being sold for human trafficking. In fact, it is the second largest and fastest-growing criminal industry in the world, according to an article posted on the Polaris Project Web site at
polarisproject.org. When many people think of human trafficking, they may think of poor third world countries. What many do not realize is that Thailand is the number one country involved in the trade, with America close behind in third place, according to Dave Peterson, president of the Criminal Justice Students Club (CJSC) here on campus.

The goal of the event was to get students informed and show them how to get involved in stopping the vicious trade. Local and campus clubs, including Give Us Names, Freedom 4/24 and Smile4Africa, had booths set up at Friday’s event. The sponsors believe that if secular organizations do a lot to combat the sex trade, then Christians should do more.

“This was all done by grace,” Criminal Justice Club Treasurer Sarah Robbins said. “This big of event does not just happen. The bands (and organizations) worked great with us and we had a ton of students volunteer their time to help us out.”

The events did not end with just the concerts. A symposium was held Saturday that featured organizations that currently fight sex trade, such as the SOLD Project, International Justice Mission (IJM), the Polaris Project and Operation Blue Ridge Thunder. A documentary video revealed the truths behind the child sex trade.

The CJSC, which is new this year, put on the event as one of their outreaches to let students know that criminal justice does not stop with the courtroom. The club verse is Psalm 82:3-4,
“Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

“Just because the Red Event has concluded, our search for justice and restoration for those affected by this evil should not subside,” Raposas said. “We still need to stand strong with a collective voice, and declare that this evil must be stopped.”

For information on how to get involved, contact Dave Peterson at dgpeterson@liberty.edu.

Contact Danielle Talbert at
detalbert@liberty.edu.