Vaughn College Adjunct Professor Loretta Alkalay was recently interviewed for news articles in Newsweek and The New York Times about laws and regulations regarding unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones.

Alkalay, who teaches a drone law course at Vaughn, the only course of its kind in the country, was interviewed for a Newsweek article published Saturday, November 21. The article, available here, covered proposed regulations presented to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) by drone experts.

“Current FAA rules ban outdoor educational drone classes in the US.” But she hopes that will eventually change. “I don’t see how the FAA can think that regulations equal education,” Alkalay says. “It’s a really missed opportunity.”

On Monday, November 23, The New York Times quoted Alkalay in an article about proposed registration laws for drone pilots. You can read that articlehere.

“‘The F.A.A. is under tremendous pressure to do something because there is a lot of public concern around drones,” said Loretta Alkalay, an aviation lawyer and professor at the Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in Queens.”But I don’t think registration solves the main concerns.” She added, “We shouldn’t really expect that the people with most nefarious intents would register in the database.”

Alkalay is a longtime advocate for drone pilots, frequently appearing in news segments on the topic. She was also a panelist in a forum on drones’ legal and social implications in April 2015. The forum was co-hosted by Vaughn College and the Aeronautics Committee of the New York City Bar Association, and is available to view here.