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DOANE PROF UNEARTHS `COSMIC WATERGATE' IN SEARCH FOR UFO DATA.
By Diane Walkowiak, Regional Correspondent.
Crete, Ne. - A lecture on the possibiltiy of life on Mars changed the
life of Jim Falvo, assistant professor of communications at Doane
College.
After attending a lecture six years ago in which Omahan Harry Jordan
discussed unusual surface features on Mars, Falvo became curious not
only about possible life and artifacts on Mars, but also the secrecy
that seemed to cloak the issue.
A former journalist, Falvo was intrigued by the security measures at
the lecture and by charges that the U.S. government was withholding
information from the public.
He says he felt the implications of the story were enormous, and could
not understand why there wasn't more coverage by the mainstream media.
If the claims were true, it was the "discovery of the millenium."
That same year, Falvo moved to Minnesota to teach at St. Olaf College.
Spurred by what he called "a normal curiosity," he started travelling
in his spare time, first collecting data about Mars, then about UFOs.
He returned to Nebraska in 1990 to teach at Doane. In the past six
years, he said, he has spent "thousands of hours and thousands of
dollars" gathering data on UFOs and other unexplained phenomena.
Without actually going to Mars, Falvo believes no one can verify
whether life exists there. He refers to a possible government coverup
as a "Cosmic Watergate."
Falvo has taken it upon himself to collect and scrutinize whatever
information he can find, then make it available to others.
"I feel a social responsibility to get the word out," he said.
Much of that information, stacked in his office at Doane, provided
the basis for two sessions he taught there.
Falvo said his students - even those who were skeptics - left class
more open-minded about the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
Falvo has no personal experience with UFOs or unexplained phenomena,
and he hopes he never does.
"I have no desire to have an encounter. Some of this stuff is
frightening," he said.
In his research, Flavo attempts to disprove accounts by finding holes
in them.
"I'm hoping that somebody comes up to me and says, `This is a pile of
garbage, and here's why.' But no one's done that," he said. "It's
refreshing that it's getting the exposure it deserves. It's a
legitimate area of scientific inquiry."
Falvo has videotaped people who claim to have had personal encounters
with UFOs or unexplained phenomena, including three Doane students
who, on seperate occasions, said they sighted UFOs while driving
between Lincoln and Crete. Sightings of lights above Lincoln in late
January also aroused Falvo's interest. He said the descriptions of
what was seen by Lincoln police officers and others have similarities
to what people have described in other incidents.
Falvo urges those interested in learning more about unexplained
phenomena to approach the subject with some skepticism and to avoid
the fringe issues, such as abductions and arranged contacts with
aliens.
There are many concrete case studies available, he said, and research
can be done at public libraries as well. Workshops and conferences
provide an opportunity to meet with experts in the field.
"Exploring the UFO Mystery" a conference exploring unexplained
phenomena, is scheduled April 22-24 at the Nebraska Center for
Continuing Education, 33rd and Holdrege streets.
More information is available by calling Scott Colborn at
(402) 421-1701 in Lincoln, or through fliers that are available by
calling Scot Colborn at 421-1701 in Lincoln, or through fliers that
are available at the Way Home Bookstore in Lincoln, 3231 S. 13th St.
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