The truth is out there – and so is Budd Hopkins.
Hopkins, an alien abduction scholar and “patron saint” of people abducted by UFOs, warned about 15 audience members of human-alien hybrids Thursday at McCormick Auditorium.
After 26 years of investigating the physical evidence behind abductions, Hopkins said extraterrestrials are “the biggest story in human history” and urged an end to the “conspiracy of silence” behind alien abductions.
“I’ve worked with more than 500 people, falling into every category of gender, ethnicity and nationality who have experienced these encounters,” he said. “I’ve dealt with everyone from prostitutes to plumbers, and no one has any great pleasure in being a member of this particular club.”
Arguing that aliens are trying to create a human-alien hybrid, Hopkins said he has evidence that sperm and ova have been removed during abductions.
“I’m surprised this subject isn’t more appealing,” he said. “I don’t know (the aliens’) agenda, but there is evidence they are trying to intermix genetic material, and that intermixing is already among us.”
The threat of alien world domination aside, Hopkins had good news for the earthlings in the audience: He said if they haven’t been abducted already, there’s little chance it will happen to them later.
“Everyone who was an abductee was originally picked up as a child,” said Hopkins. “The aliens use an orderly procedure with the whole thing planned out. If a person is part of the sample, they will be picked up again and again.”
Beneath the glowing lights of a slide show screen, Hopkins showcased pictures with flying objects in the background. Hopkins said he became interested in UFO sightings in 1964 after seeing one himself while driving through Cape Cod.
“We realized it was a 3-dimensional craft of some sort,” he said of the daytime encounter. “We were watching a small, metallic, lens-shaped object maneuver in the sky.”
Hopkins also discussed the research behind his latest book, “Witness.” The book recounts a 1989 abduction of a woman from a 12th-floor apartment in New York City. Hopkins found 21 witnesses to this account, as people said they saw a UFO flying over the Brooklyn Bridge.
Hopkins said the aliens were simply demonstrating their vast powers to world leaders who were meeting at the United Nations at the same time.
“It was almost like they were showing world leaders that they can do whatever they want,” he said. “This either happened, or all these people created a hoax for no apparent reason.”
The few students who attended the speech, sponsored by the Campus Activities Office, said it was interesting to see UFO evidence presented in the form of pictures and research.
Weinberg junior and anthropology major Elizabeth Severson said she wanted to contrast her knowledge of human culture with the evidence about aliens.
“I want to believe,” she said. “I don’t know if I’ve made a concrete decision or not, but I’m being open-minded.”
Jennifer Kim, who helped plan the event, said Hopkins’ lecture exceeded her expectations.
“It turned out to be a lot different than I expected,” said Kim, a Music freshman. “I wasn’t that interested beforehand, but Hopkins really sparked something in me.”
