Dr. Chris Taylor (credit: Sacramento State)

The lecture was supposed to be accompanied by night sky observation through the university’s telescopes, but this was prevented by cloudy weather. The public will get another chance though, as Dr. Taylor said he plans to host another public observation night later this year.

While the turnout for this event was small, Dr. Taylor was pleased with the event. The State Hornet, the university’s newspaper, quotes Dr. Taylor as stating, “I get to teach a class about aliens and get paid.” Attendees were engaged by his presentation, and asked questions following the lecture.

The topic of extraterrestrial life is becoming more common at universities across the U.S., and around the world. The search for extraterrestrial life is gaining support from mainstream scientists, and major research institutions are taking an active role. And more universities, like Sacramento State, are hosting lectures on the subject, which helps to spark the interest among students, and encourages the next generation of scientists to open their minds to new ideas about life in space.

The UFO lecture at ISU was given by UFO researcher Robert Hastings of New Mexico. Hastings’ work primarily deals with UFOs and a possible connection with nuclear weapons. Hastings cites declassified information, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, to back up his claims.

John Greenwald, Jr. is another researcher who utilizes the Freedom of Information Act to obtain information related to UFOs, among other things. Over the past 10 years, Greenwald has amassed thousands of documents, and made them available on his website The Black Vault.

While some juicy declassified documents have been obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, many of the documents yield very little useful information.