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- COLUMBUS, Ohio (U-Wire) -
Stanton T. Friedman has never seen a flying saucer, but that doesn't keep
him from believing in them.
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- Friedman, dressed conservatively except for an interstellar-themed
blue tie, spoke for nearly three hours at the Ohio Union Conference Theater
on Monday.
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- The nuclear physicist's lecture, titled "Flying
Saucers Are Real," focused on evidence of Unidentified Flying Objects,
including pictures, eyewitness accounts and military investigations reported
by "competent observers and investigators" since 1947, the year
in which many believe a flying saucer landed near Roswell, N.M.
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- "Some UFOs are alien spacecraft, most are not,"
Friedman said. "There's a huge amount of solid evidence out there."
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- Friedman, who has spent 42 years studying UFOs, said
that he was originally a skeptic, until he looked at the "overwhelming
evidence" supporting the existence of flying saucers. He also said
he believes in a U.S. government conspiracy, which Friedman calls a "a
cosmic Watergate," that has kept information about UFOs from reaching
the general public.
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- Friedman believes that the stigma for believing in flying
saucers, ignorance of the evidence, and fear of ridicule keep many from
studying the issue further. He said the government's possible motivations
in a cover up are varied, but come down to fears about advanced technology
and sharing information.
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- "You can't tell your friends without telling your
enemies," Friedman said.
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- Something else keeping those in the know from revealing
information about UFOs is what it would mean to Earth's place in the universe
and a person's allegiance to their country, he said.
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- "We should begin to think of ourselves as Earthlings,"
Friedman said. "We're not the big shots in the neighborhood."
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- Many audience members thought Friedman's presentation
was out of this world.
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- "A lot of his opinion didn't come across as the
most unbiased account of things," said Pat Quealy, a sophomore computer
science major.
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- Rich Machin, a non-student who attended the lecture,
agreed.
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- "The statistics were more convincing than his thoughts
and opinions," Machin said.
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- Jennifer MacDonald, president of the Ohio Union Activities
Board and a junior business major said the presentation was useful for
those who are curious about UFOs and don't often get to hear both sides
of the issue.
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- "You always hear about the people who are against
UFOs, but you don't often hear about the people who believe," MacDonald
said.
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- Most of the audience stayed until the end of the lecture,
which was encouraging to Michael Bershadski, a junior finance major and
a member of the activities board.
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- "We work hard to bring diverse programming to campus
and attract students from different areas of the university," Bershadski
said.
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