Kevin Pina, a journalist and documentary filmmaker, spoke to students in the Hinde Auditorium Friday about the current conditions in Haiti and how the conflict started.

Nearly 150 students who attended the event, and two sociology classes made up about half of that number.

Professor Paul Burke, who has been speaking with his sociology classes about the current state of Haiti, said Pina was the best source of information on the subject because he has been in Haiti for the past five years and knows firsthand the history of the nation.

Pina spoke about the events leading up to the removal of President Jean-Bertrande Aristide in February of this year. Afterwards he showed an excerpt from his film “Haiti: The Betrayal of Democracy,” which is a documentary on the events before and after the removal of Aristide.

“I didn’t have any idea what was going on in Haiti before this event,” said Sarah Gibbons, a student in Assistant Professor James Curiel’s sociology class. “I thought it was really interesting, especially because there is so little coverage of the conflict here.”

After the presentation many of the students had to leave for class, but Pina stayed for another half-hour to answer questions about Haiti for the 40 students who stayed behind.

Some of the questions were about the safety of traveling in Haiti right now and about the whereabouts of Aristide after his removal from Haiti.

“The presentation was very enlightening. It really opened my eyes to a lot of issues that aren’t covered in our press,” said Julia Uhl, a student in Professor Burke’s sociology class. “I was glad to find out about an alternative source of information for people who don’t know about Haiti.”

Pina said at the end of his presentation that students could go to www.haitiaction.net or his publication Web site, www.blackcommentator.com, to find more information on Haiti.

Pina is the associate editor of the Black Commentator, an independent news source. He returned to Haiti on Saturday accompanied by Leisa Faulkner-Barnes, a former Sacramento State student and current political activist.