After-school Classes Focus on Student Safety Issues

Reynoldsburg eSTEM Academy junior Noel Boykin believes a continuing program of after-school classes promotes student safety by helping students "expand their horizons and awareness" of issues such as bullying, dating abuse and human trafficking.

Boykin is president of the Reynoldsburg Youth Human Trafficking Coalition, a group working to spread awareness that human trafficking exists and that traffickers often target young people.

She said the after-school classes teach students about safe dating, how to prevent bullying, sexual harassment and child abductions, along with presenting facts about how young people are lured into human trafficking situations.

"Recently, we watched a video which had a simulation to show how easy it was to lure a child into an abduction situation using social media," she said. "While we knew incidents such as these are disturbingly common, watching it happen on the screen stunned all of us."

She said the students try to share what they learn with family and friends to spread awareness and "keep everyone safe."

"Serving as a member of the RYHTC is something I hold close to my heart," she said. "We have now gotten to the state where most people are familiar with the issue of human trafficking, but still deny its existence in their local communities.

"I continue to be a part of this group to help continually spread awareness and open the eyes of many," she said.

Read more in the Reynoldsburg News