Out of this world and into your mind

By Andrea Ayala
The Daily Titan January 30, 2012

Photo by Camille Tarazon

Let’s face it: It’s hard enough grasping the tangible world through studies in college.Amidst the business that is school, especially back to school, students don’t usually take the time to lift their heads out of their books and lives long enough to ponder what lies outside of reason.
Reason is college.
Earth to Cal State Fullerton: there’s life outside of school.
There may even be life outside of the planet, according to some. This idea is what’s got the members of the Mutual Unidentified Flying Object Network (MUFON) going. MUFON International tries to answer difficult questions about unexplained occurrences on this planet, and raise questions as to what is happening in other planets. Regular MUFON meetings are held all over the world. The meetings usually include professional speakers who have done extensive research on the subject.
In a recent gathering of the MUFON Orange County Chapter, on Jan. 18, speaker Christopher O’Brien discussed unexplained occurrences in ancient times, such as the carving of stone heads with glass by the Olmec and space-ship like figures in medieval time art.
When most think of unidentified objects, UFOs and aliens specifically come to mind, and images of long gray faces with big round eyes from childhood animated shows and movies reappear. However, O’Brien argued that unidentified objects aren’t necessarily inclusive of just aliens. Other unexplained phenomena such as crop circles can be classified as unidentified objects as well.
Even miracles, he explained, could be considered unidentified circumstances and occurrences such as the miracle of Our Lady of Fatima, in which the Virgin Mary was said to have appeared to three shepherd children, fall under the category of UFOs or unidentified flying objects. At the gathering, O’Brien encouraged people to get creative when looking at ancient cultures in order to better understand the past.
Neena Dolwani, a Newport Beach resident, is on the board of directors for the MUFON Orange County Chapter. Dolwani explained that she joined the board of directors in the hopes of encouraging more young people to join the MUFON. Despite the fact that a majority of the MUFON gatherings are populated by middle-aged or older members, many young people may still remain interested in the research of unexplained occurrences. It is important, she says, to “bridge the gap.”
Stephanie Martinez, 26, a biology major, is a good friend of Dolwani. She recently decided to tag along for one of the meetings. “I’ve always had an interest in extraterrestrials… I was an X-Files fan,” said Martinez.
Martinez stated that it’s important to maintain research on UFOs, saying, “There’s just so many unanswered questions, it’s something we should investigate.”
Karl Jara, 19, a CSUF business major, said that most of the information he gets about extra-terrestrials comes from movies or YouTube. Jara said he believes in the possibility of life outside Earth, “not like robots or transformers, not that kind of aliens…but maybe the big headed aliens.”
Jara says that his interest in the unexplained would not necessarily encourage him to attend one of the MUFON meetings. “It would scare me if I found out that there are aliens,” said Jara.
Still, the MUFON could attract many young visitors who are steering away from traditional beliefs and shifting towards the possibility of an alternative explanation for occurrences on Earth.