A stationary drone replica soared over Speakers Circle during the school day Thursday.
The display was an effort to raise awareness, said Ethan Robinette, the president of the MU Chapter of Young Americans for Liberty, a national nonpartisan, nonprofit educational organization.
The replica was coupled with information about the costs of drone warfare. Robinette said the display went over very well.
“A lot of students thanked us for doing (the display),” Robinette said. “We will have it out here again some day.”
Robinette said he wanted to highlight the carelessness with the way the current administration goes about using drones.
The drone replica was obtained from a man in South Bend whose son was killed in a friendly fire drone attack, Robinette said.
Republican Sen. Rand Paul’s 13-hour filibuster helped bring drones into the national spotlight.
According to a NPR story on March 8, Paul said he would keep talking until the White House clarified whether it has the authority to kill U.S. citizens on American soil with drones.
“Our president isn’t willing to forfeit his right to bomb an American citizen,” Robinette said in regard to his opposition to drone warfare.
Robinette said he is not opposed to national defense.
According to the flyers YAL students passed out today, there are 170 YAL chapters and 3,000 members nationwide. The MU chapter has 80 members.
According to the YAL website, the organization is classically liberal and traditionally conservative.
Robinette said the organization supports small government in every sense, socially and financially.
The drone display was a part of March’s theme, which is “A Generation of War,” as dictated by the national organization.
Also in support of the theme, YAL is hosting talks and screenings focusing on war.
On Monday, the group hosted a screening of the documentary “Why We Fight.”
Next Wednesday, the organization will take part in a vigil at the Boone County Courthouse to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Iraq invasion.