Members of the Progressive Student Alliance, or PSA, protested a recruiting event held by Raytheon Technologies, a several billion dollars aerospace defense organization, voicing their complaints about the company's alleged unethical practices to a room full of students and industry representatives on February 21.
During the meeting, student representatives from PSA asked questions targeting the company's controversial business practices.
The questions ranged from company questions role in arms sales to states committing war crimes to concerns that Raytheon was supporting climate change to fuel conflict over natural resources to make a profit.
In response to questions from students, Rebecca Kuzmich, campus program recruiter for Collins Aerospace, a Raytheon subsidiary, said the company declined to comment and said it was a personal decision for employees to work on certain products or be associated with the company.
At the end of the Q&A session, when students were invited to network with company representatives, PSA members moved to the front of the conference room and held signs detailing some of the company's alleged actions, including “Raytheon technology is used for the detention of asylum seekers”. and “Raytheon Bombs Kill Civilians.”
One of the PSA members in attendance, fourth-year biology major Kyler Shinkle-Stolar, said the purpose of the protest was to draw attention to the company's controversial actions and deter students from doing business with the company.
“We're not trying to make students feel bad. It's more that many of them probably don't even know about the moral implications [of working] with Raytheon,” Shinkle-Stolar said. “So we're just trying to raise awareness about it and at the same time disrupt the recruiting event — we're basically doing it so that Raytheon can see [the events] as unprofitable for them.”
Andrea Felder, chief project engineer for Collins Aerospace, said working at Raytheon was a positive career path for the students.
“[Students] they're looking for big opportunities and they're available to them,” Felder said. “It's really about doing what you want out of your career and following the path you want to take.”
Kuzmich declined to comment when asked about the protest. Felder emphasized personal choice when seeking a career path.
“Everyone has their own personal beliefs and they are welcome to follow them,” Felder said.
Shinkle-Stolar said she believed Kuzmich declined to comment because she knew there was no good answer to the group's questions.
The meeting, held in the Raytheon Auditorium at the Egan Research Center, was advertised as an opportunity for students to learn about possible involvement at Raytheon and network with current employees. About 30 people, including students and Raytheon representatives, were in attendance.
Kuzmich gave a short presentation at the beginning of the session about Raytheon's opportunities for students, including co-ops, internships and entry-level positions for recent graduates.
Other representatives at the event also spoke about them respective business units, including Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence and Space and Raytheon Missiles and Defense. Roles across all business units often revolved around engineering and computer science, which could be applied to many of the company's products and programs.
Shinkle-Stolar, along with several other students from PSA, such as Amanda Bell and Claire Wang, presented a possible resolution at the Student Government Association February 22 calling the Northeast to sever ties with companies linked to war crimes, such as Raytheon;
The petition states that this is consistent with the university's stance on commitment to social justice issues and is part of the university's obligation as a financially strong institution.
