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● wednesday,
january 25, 2012
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2011 student media
S O L D Millions of people are enslaved in cities around the world. Bryan-College Station is no exception. Joanna Raines The Battalion Behind the big-city lights and attractions of Houston, a secret lies in the shadows. Every day, human beings are sold into modern-day slavery in what looks like a normal business establishment. Behind the closed doors of spas, cantinas and nightclubs thrives a shocking injustice. The 2011 Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force Report defines human trafficking as the recruitment, harboring, transporting or procurement of a person for labor or services for the purpose of involuntary servitude, slavery or forced commercial sex acts. There are currently 27 million people enslaved around the world, according to the U.S. State Department — the highest total in history. Although estimates vary, a United Nations report in 2008 placed human trafficking’s market value worldwide at $32 billion, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
reported that “trafficking of humans is tied with arms dealing as the second largest criminal industry in the world, and is the fastest growing.” The U.S. is not exempt from the problem of modern-day slavery, and one quarter of human trafficking in America happens in Texas. In the last quarter of 2007, 30 percent of all tips to the National Human Trafficking Hotline came from Texas. Houston is known worldwide as a hotspot for human trafficking. Its proximity to the border, interstate highways and international airport make it a prime location for traffickers. However, Houston is not the only Texas city where human trafficking occurs; the issue is right in students’ backyard. Even in Bryan-College Station, there are cases of human trafficking. Officer JP Ingram of the Bryan Neighborhood Enforcement Team said that within the last week there has been a See Traffic on page 4
Photo illustration by Roger Zhang and Jorge Montalvo — THE BATTALION
In a graphic depiction of human traffickers “ownership” of trafficking victims, some women are tattooed on the back or neck with a barcode.
27million 32billion
estimated number of modern-day slaves worldwide. estimated global market value of human-trafficking industry in 2008
30 percent 10 thousand
By the numbers of all tips to the National Human Trafficking Hotline come from Texas human traffickers convicted internationally in the last three years
state of the union
immigration
President Obama confronts Congress and nation on economy, education
Waiver proposal offers quick return to U.S. Luz Moreno-Lozano
Barrett House
The Battalion
The Battalion After a historic 2011 — the death of Osama bin Laden, the Arab Spring and Congress’ budget woes — President Barack Obama stood before Congress to say “as long as we’re joined in common purpose, as long as we maintain our common resolve, our journey moves forward, our future is hopeful and the state of our union will always be strong.” The State of the Union address, given annually, gives the President the opportunity to inform the American public of the country’s status. Tuesday evening, Obama discussed topics including the military withdrawal from Iraq, unemployment in America, and the broken economy. Obama began the address complementing the military for its ability to work together while many institutions have been unable to. “Imagine what we could accomplish if we followed their example,” Obama said. “Think about the Amer-
ASSOICATED PRESS
President Barack Obama gestures while giving his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill on Tuesday in Washington. ica within our reach: a country that leads the world in educating its people. An America that attracts a new generation of high-tech manufacturing and high-paying jobs. A future where we’re in control of our own energy, and our security and prosperity aren’t
so tied to unstable parts of the world. An economy built to last, where hard work pays off, and responsibility is rewarded.” During the speech, Obama proSee Obama on page 4
The Obama administration proposed a new law to alleviate the restrictions on illegal immigrants entering the U.S., allowing them to apply for a waiver that would allow re-entry into the U.S. during the process of obtaining a visa if the immigrants have immediate family and can prove the separation is causing extreme hardships. Illegal immigrants have no way of becoming a legal U.S. citizen — after their visa expires — trapping them in the U.S. under undocumented status. “They don’t want to be undocumented but there aren’t many choices unless you have a family member here. The 1996 law changed the rules and penalized undocumented citizens in the U.S.,” said Nadia Flores, assistant professor in
the Department of Sociology. Current law requires illegal immigrants applying for legal status to return to their home country before becoming eligible for a visa. Once there, the immigrants face a three to 10-year period during which they are not allowed to re-enter the U.S. — forcing many families to be separated for long periods of time. The bill’s supporters say the path to a green card is a long, tedious process and many families live in fear of separation and simply choose to not apply. “It’s tough to have your family separated,” said Mariana Anguiano, sophomore civil engineering major. “You don’t know how long you’re going to be out of the country and now with this new law they will have the benefit of knowing how long they will See Immigration on page 5
campus
Construction on and off campus forces buses to reroute Haley Lawson The Battalion Students may have noticed multiple changes to several bus routes due to construction on and off campus. Temporary fences around Fish Pond to the Wellborn Road project, in particular, have rerouted a number of bus routes. Competing for elbowroom, the construction projects and the Aggie Spirit buses have led Transportation Services to seek alternative routes for the buses.
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“Any time we have to move bus stops and re-route, it is somewhat an inconvenience but we know it is for the good of the campus and community. With the Wellborn Road project coming, we anticipate there will be major inconveniences for the next two years,” said June Broughton, marketing manager for Transportation Services. Some of the major bus routes that have been changed are routes 3 (Yell Practice), 12 (Reveille) and 15 (Old Army). Routes 3 and 12, as well as any other bus that ventures past Fish Pond will be rerouted.
“It is making me so angry I avoid the bus because it used to take me 10 minutes to get from Reed to campus and now it takes me 20 to 30 minutes — I’d rather run,” said Austin Souders, junior industrial distribution major. Despite the construction on and off campus, Transportation Services has taken steps to assist students. The University auxiliary has added options for students to know where buses are and what the changes are. “We have implemented a new system that has GPS tracking, cameras on the buses and automatic passenger counters,” Broughton
said. “This system will give us much more accurate information and will enable us to make changes as needed on routes in order to enhance our service. We have also added annunciators on the buses, which notify passengers of upcoming stops. Last year, we added Braille signage to our bus stops.” Lana Wolken, assistant director for Transportation Services, said construction in Bryan caused route 15 to be split in two: the north section and south section. The south section See Bus routes on page 5
1/24/12 11:45 PM