People passing by the School of Nursing on Friday, August 2, may have wondered why sidewalk cracks in front of the school and up and down 21st Ave. were filled with red sand. The red sand in cracks made up an interactive art installation created by School of Nursing students, faculty, staff and friends as they participated in the Red Sand Project, a worldwide movement to call attention to human trafficking victims who so often fall through the cracks.
VUSN participants also created signs with facts about human trafficking, words of encouragement for victims, and social media hashtags. VUSN students learn how to recognize possible human trafficking victims and how to help them. Research has shown that medical providers are more likely to encounter people being trafficked than any other profession.