The Young Democratic Socialists of America at NC State recently launched “Career Killers,” a website to aid students in avoiding companies the organization deems as harmful. These companies are often found at the engineering career fair and a part of a larger “Resist Recruitment” effort from YDSA. 

YDSA is a student-run organization that aims to educate and organize around political, social and economic change towards democratic socialism. Criss Berke, a fourth-year studying agroecology and sustainable food systems and a co-chair of YDSA, said the goal of the organization’s efforts is to keep students informed about companies who are recruiting on campus.

“We believe that students should not work for the military-industrial complex and for companies that profit off of violence and war,” Berke said.

Nathaniel Dibble, a third-year studying political science and involvement lead at YDSA, said students looking for jobs often don’t feel like they have a choice but to give into harmful industries. Dibble said this resource is helping put power back into the hands of the working class.

“We have power as that future workforce,” Dibble said. “If we can stop these companies from gaining our labor, the value of our labor, we can hopefully put a dent in the horror that these companies create in the world.”

The organization’s efforts have been ongoing since the 2023 picketing protest at the engineering career fair.

“We’re hoping, just by speaking face to face with our fellow students, that they can understand why these companies are a problem and understand the power that they hold by withholding their labor from them,” Dibble said.

John Hanlon, a second-year studying computer science and a YDSA officer, said a big part of educating students is presenting alternative options.

“There are other companies that aren’t a part of the military-industrial complex, that aren’t making weapons of war, that aren’t involved in environmental destruction or aren’t involved in the active genocides,” Hanlon said.

Since its first protest at the career fair, the organization has made efforts to improve its outreach strategy, such as switching from picketing to handing out fliers. Hanlon said they wanted to focus on getting information directly to students.

The pamphlets the group handed out at the fall 2024 career fair contained information about the major harmful companies and a few alternative options. Students had an increased response to this tactic, but the organization chose to create a website to reach even more students.

Not only is a website much easier to widely distribute, Hanlon said, but it also has a directory, search options, filters and a map. The map of the McKimmon Center was the centerpiece of the site and was color-coded to indicate company records.

On the website, each table was tagged with specific information. If a company has been deemed acceptable, they are tagged with the options they are offering prospective employees. If they have unfavorable records, there is information about exactly what the company has been involved with and why it has been labeled unethical. 

“NC State regularly hosts events, including college career fairs, that provide students the opportunity to explore possible career paths and speak with prospective employers from a wide range of industries,” University spokesperson Mick Kulikowski said in a written statement to Technician.

Many members of YDSA contributed to the research and vetting of each company that would be in attendance at the spring engineering career fair. 

“Our wider goal for this — and this is always our goal when we’re talking to other students — is to just raise consciousness about really what the American economy and the American industry is kind of built on, which is the horrors that these companies represent,” Dibble said.

YDSA is a part of the Divestment Coalition, a group of student organizations whose goal is to encourage NC State to divest from harmful industries and reinvest in the campus and its wider community. These reinvestments would include better-paid stipends for campus workers, better environmental protections and renovations.

There is now work being done on the site to allow it to adapt to future career fairs, both at NC State and other campuses with YDSA chapters.

“I think students doing this sort of thing — talking to other students about the type of companies that they’re working for and some of the very evil things that they’re getting up to is really important,” Berke said. “We need things like this to get people informed.”