On Thursday December 1st, two students and military veterans, Paul Howell and Joshua Rios, accompanied Professor Ben Meiches to Evergreen State College to participate in a discussion on The Rise of Drone Warfare and the Social Transformation of War. Led by Evergreen professor Steve Niva, Joshua and Paul related stories about their encounters with drones as service members and as Politics, Philosophy, and Economics majors studying armed conflict. The presentation and Q&A were conducted with an Evergreen class studying the transformation of war over the past few decades. The event was a tremendous success, bringing together students’ personal experience, their critical thinking, and academic skills into a collaborative project with another regional institution.

The sessions with Evergreen students brought a number of pressing issues to the fore, including the future of armed conflict, the pressures and ethical questions that face contemporary service members, and the impact of technology on the business of soldiering. The event showcased the strength of PPE students as both scholars and community members. Evergreen students posed rich, engaging questions in a fantastic dialogue which hopefully sets the stage for future collaboration about major political issues moving forward.