By Rebekah Frank
staff writer
On Nov. 7, Eagle Entertainment challenged students with the possibility of UFOs visiting our planet with guest lecturer Robert Hastings.
Hastings is a noted researcher and has interviewed former and retired U.S. Air Force personnel regarding their experiences with nuclear weapons and related UFO incidents for 40 years. Based off his vast knowledge and research, Hastings has come to three main conclusions: Earth has been and is being visited by UFOs, they have a keen interest in our nuclear power plants and the government has known about this for many decades, but has tried to keep it from the public.
Hastings’ lecture consisted of a history of UFO sightings with the first massive wave of sightings beginning in 1947, and information regarding the government’s secrecy in the matter.
According to Hastings, there have been UFOs sighted near nuclear weapons facilities. “People who guard missile sites or weapons storage areas are consistently reporting UFO activity at these sights,” Hastings said. The people reporting these sightings range from citizens living nearby, security officers on sight and other nuclear weapons personnel.
Hastings also mentioned the strange activities that usually accompany the UFO sightings, “UFOs have hovered over our nuclear missiles and these missiles malfunctioned. … They’ve hovered over nuclear weapons storage areas and sent down laser like beams onto the weapons storage areas.”
So is their curiosity and tampering with our nuclear weapons a threat? “My opinion is that they are trying to send a signal to the nuclear powers that having nuclear weapons is potentially suicidal. … They can destroy human civilization,” said Hastings.
There were many documents about the sighted UFOs that Hastings included in his lecture. The question of whether UFOs had actually visited Earth was not much of an issue. For some people, the question is who are they, where do they come from, what do they want, will they reveal themselves or do they mean us harm.
Hastings said, “In my view, whoever they are, intend open contact with humans at some point in the future. … I don’t think we have to fear, whoever they are, what they are up to.”
If a UFO were to land on Earth and extraterrestrial life forms walked out, Hastings said, “This is concrete reality for me, … I would not be as shocked as many people.”
While this may be a concrete reality for Hastings, it is not for EWU alumni James Downard. “I am looking at what evidence is being presented and what other information may not have been presented,” said Downard.
When asked if he believed UFOs have visited Earth, Downard said that there were a lot of problems in regards to UFO sightings, loopholes and blank spots, for him to believe that UFOs have been on Earth.
EWU sophomore Larry Holmes had a similar view as Downard towards extraterrestrial life forms having visited our planet. “I’m a skeptic. … Personally, I’d probably be one of the last people to say yes. … It’s very hard to say yes when you haven’t had your own encounter,” said Holmes.
If UFOs landed and extraterrestrial life forms walked out, Holmes said his first reaction would be fear, followed by complete intrigue.
The overseer of this event was Eagle Entertainment event coordinator Tyler Rochon.
Rochon’s opinion on the lecture was its ability to allow people to keep an open mind, and that is something, as an event coordinator, he tries to achieve for the student body.
“They will certainly challenge humanity’s world view, … because the evidence is persuasive, … we are being visited by multiple species from elsewhere,” said Hastings.
