Political science professor Richard Friman hosted an informal discussion Tuesday regarding his past and current academic research about subjects such as human trafficking, the intersection of immigration and crime and the relationship between illicit and licit economies.

Friman gave a brief introduction of his research, and then allowed the students and faculty members in attendance to ask any questions they had regarding related topics or issues.

One of the areas Friman discussed most extensively was international human trafficking, specifically U.S. policies toward the victims of such exploitation.

Friman said one flaw within the United States' human trafficking policy is the fact that the government differentiates between severe and non-severe cases.

"You can be a victim of human trafficking, but if you don't meet the U.S.'s definition, you're viewed as an illegal alien and shipped back to the country you came from," Friman said.

He said oftentimes people returned to their countries are recycled back into the human trafficking market, perpetuating the system.

Although Friman's research covers a broad range of topics, he said there were a few recurring themes throughout his subjects.

"I'm very much interested in the interaction of advanced industrial countries," he said. "It's the advanced industrial countries that make the rules."

He said he was also interested in the interaction of domestic and international politics.

Friman also discussed the various sources of motivation for his research. He said he is principally motivated by the gaps he finds in current academic literature, and he tries to fill in the information missing from those holes.

Friman said he is also motivated by the disconnect he sees between government rhetoric and reality regarding the subjects of his research.

Friman's discussion marked the beginning of a new monthly event called the Aspin Speaker Series. The series is scheduled to be a monthly event aimed at fostering intellectual discussion between students and faculty.

Alex Parets, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences and one of the principal organizers of the series, said the first discussion went very well.

"The event was really successful," Parets said. "These are issues that a lot of students on campus should know about and need to learn more about. Friman was the perfect speaker for the first event."

Parets said he estimated around 40 to 45 people attended the discussion. He said the next installment of the series is scheduled to be sometime in late November, and the organizers are looking into prospective topics such as environmental politics and economics, the intersection of religion and politics and the future of U.S. international policy.

The Rev. Timothy O'Brien, director of the Les Aspin Center for Government in Washington, D.C., said the choices for future topics and speakers in the series will be left entirely up to the students because the students have a closer relationship with the university's faculty.

"We're not pushing any certain agenda," he said. "We're just pushing exchange between faculty and students about the key political issues of the day."