Students seeking intellectual conversation beyond the classroom can find an outlet this week with an informal discussion led by political science professor Richard Friman.
Friman, who will hold his discussion today at 4 p.m. in Raynor Conference Room B, is the first of a prospective line of speakers for a new monthly event known as the Aspin Speaker Series.
According to Alex Parets, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences and one of the organizers of the series, the Aspin Speaker Series will seek to bring together students and faculty to discuss relevant current issues.
Friman said he plans to talk to students about his research regarding human trafficking, the politics linking the issues of immigration and crime and the relationship between legal and illicit economies.
He said he plans for the meeting to be an informal discussion with interested students, and an opportunity for them to ask any questions that they may have about his current research.
"I'm going to be giving a brief introduction as to the issues that I'm doing my research on, and then I'll open the floor to Q-and-A," Friman said.
Kevin Seifert, College of Arts & Sciences senior and one of the event's organizers from the Les Aspin Center for Government, said one of the main purposes for the event is for professors to discuss their current research projects with students.
"Research is such an integral part of a professor's experience — it's important for them to discuss their work with the students," Seifert said. "We really hope that these discussions will encourage students to take a more active and in-depth look at the issues."
Seifert said Friman's discussion today would serve as a test program to see how the Marquette community will respond to the series.
Parets said the series is currently being organized by the Les Aspin Center, which is based in Washington, D.C., along with the Aspin Alumni Council and political science honor society Pi Sigma Alpha.
He said he hopes in the future a wide array of organizations across campus will take interest in the series.
"We want to give faculty and students a forum where they can get together and talk about events that are going on around the world in a much more in-depth manner than you can find in the newspapers, on television or on the Internet," Parets said.
"The purpose of the Aspin Speaker Series is to spark debate and discussion on campus, something that the organizers feel greatly lacks at Marquette."
Parets said that the series was established with the purpose of being a permanent fixture on campus in order to cultivate a lasting intellectual and informed discussion on campus.