When I came to college I was surprised by a great number of things, such as how people just cross the street without looking, how small the dorm rooms were, and how close I would become with people. One thing that surprised me though was not as mundane as the other things that I discovered in college.

I was very surprised when I kept hearing of people trying to force college students into human trafficking on our campus.

There were several occurrences that I heard of in which ladies (and sometimes men) would be walking up to students walking to class and trying to invite them to bible study groups, only for the students later learn that they were in fact not really inviting them to a study group.

They had a more sinister intent.

They wanted to get them into human trafficking.

Of course, the first time I heard about an occurrence like this I was scared, but I just made a mental note to keep an eye out and didn't think that much about it otherwise. Then I started to hear about other instances very similar happening.

This made me start to really worry about it because many people on campus may not be aware of it like I am, as the school has never said anything about it.

There are so many unsuspecting freshmen out there that wouldn't blink an eye when offered the chance to join a new bible club and that is the scary part. Because these young girls could easily fall prey to the traffickers' traps. When you hear about human trafficking, most people probably think of a big nasty man who stuffs you in a car and takes you away never to be seen again.

However, this is not the case all the time.

Many of the people that have been trying to get students on campuses have been women, because young girls feel more comfortable talking to a seemingly nice lady, rather than a man. That is just the world we have been raised in.

So the fact that there are women out there throwing lines out to reel girls (and maybe even boys) into trafficking makes it clear that you can not rule females out for this kind of stuff. Colleges are the perfect place for traffickers to look for young adults because they are away from their parents for the first time and are eager to try new things.

So to anyone out there on a college campus or even just anyone in general (because you never know when or where you could be attempted to be trafficked) just keep an eye out. Stay alert and aware of your surroundings.

Be cautious of people and don't ever go anywhere that a stranger tells you to go to alone.

It's easy to think that in a fairly nice area such as Raleigh you are safe, but the reality is, there are no boundaries for trafficking.

So please spread the word because you don't want yourself or anyone else to be next.