Seton Hall University - Galleon Yearbook (South Orange, NJ)

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Von Daniken Propounds Extraterrestrial Theory by Bill Grau A combined total of fifty million copies of Chariots of the Gods , Gold of the Gods , and Gods from Outer Space have been sold, and their au- thor, the young Swiss Erich von Daniken, is cam- paigning vigorously for converts to his theory that our earth was visited by extraterrestrial creatures between 40,000 and 500 B.C. According to evi- dence presented by von Daniken at Seton Hall on the night of November 6, these ancient astro- nauts not only visited earth many centuries ago, but left behind much physical and literary evi- dence which certifies their existence. Speaking to a large crowd in the Student Center main lounge, von Daniken delivered his theory with an excellently narrated slide presenta- tion which ably illustrated his novel views on the existence of ancient space explorers. He cited many literary passages which supposedly support his contentions and which verify the existence of space beings of the past. The first literary support presented by von 18

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DAVID FROST DAZZLES AUDIENCE WITH BRITISH WIT by Patrick Longhi David Frost, one of America ' s best known talk show hosts, lectured at Seton Hall on the evening of October 24. Mr. Frost immediately put his audience, in the main lounge of the Student Center, at ease. It was as if he was still hosting The David Frost Show, his hit-run television talk show series. Frost, a major figure in the world ' s communications and entertainment business, described television as an instrument which can entertain you in your homes by people you wouldn ' t want to have in your living room. Present throughout his lecture was this type of humor, which characterizes his popularity. He then went on to talk about commercials, his own show, and his experiences interviewing people. Politi- cians, he declared, were his favorite people to interview. Eugene McCarthy was one politician who could tell all the truth, but not the whole truth, quipped Frost. Me- moralizing the late Robert F. Kennedy, he said, With his passing, the great sayings in quotes are not here today. In his desire to show his television audience the horror of a man ' s mind. Frost once interviewed a close Hitler associate from Germany ' s Third Reich. What do you think today ' s new generation of Germans should remember Hitler most by? asked Frost. By the wonderful way, he (Hitler) dealt with un- employment in the 30 ' s, the former Nazi leader re- sponded. Even when his material went a little dry. Frost in- jected a short, witty anecdote to bring another round of chuckles from the audience. During the question-and- answer session. Frost ' s dexterity to get from a question to a joke answer was impressive. In reponse to questions from the audience. Frost described American television as excellent in its own fields. It can ' t experiment with other types of programs, he said, because of the immense financial cost in mak- ing a mistake. On the other hand, British television is publicly owned and, therefore, can experiment. Concluding his hour-and-ten-minute long exposition of his doctrine that people are interesting. Frost told his audience, God bless you all. With that, David Frost hopped off the stage to do some more of the talent which made him famous . . . talking.

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Daniken consisted of the ancient Sumarian epic of Gilgamesh. This ancient holy book gives an account of a king who was taken to great heights above the earth by a group of unknown people. In this story, the king describes the tre- mendous force exerted on his body as he is lifted from the ground and later tells his tale to his fellow natives. The king accurately describes his feelings towards the appearance of earth from high above in space and relates his reactions to the return to earth. Later, he sketches an accurate description of earth ' s appearance from such a view; a drawing which remarkably details the appearance of earth as seen from by an onlooker from outer space. Von Daniken also uses passages from Ezekiel in the Old Testament to support his claim of an- cient explorers. Ezekiel, a Hebrew prophet, de- scribes an extremely strange space vehicle which suddenly appears to him in flaming glory. Ezekiel describes the vehicle ' s construction being as if it were a wheel within a wheel and con- cludes that the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. Several slides depicted an engi- neer ' s concept of what Ezekiel supposedly saw in this vision and the drawing appears in as much detail as that of the most complex of modern space vehicles. Physical evidence cited by von Daniken in- cluded prehistoric cave drawings and rock carv- ings which were explained as primitive repre- sentations of modern day astronauts of today and evidence could not be looked upon lightly by the viewing of the audience. Von Daniken also discussed archaeological findings in Brazil, the Easter Island stone images, and the Great Pyramids of Egypt. He stated that he was amazed that such intellectually handi- capped and primitive people could sculpt, draw, and build with such dexterity, finesse, and geo- metric accuracy. Von Daniken still continues his search for clues to the beginning of civilization on earth. He said that he had originally intended Chariots of the Gods to serve as a mind opener, to provoke people to think. He predicts that in t he coming years, with the acquisition of new knowledge and the inclinations of new generations to see with different perception, that resistance to his theories even from the scientific community will weaken. These findings by von Daniken are extremely thought-provoking and require much more than casual consideration by the average listener. Whether truth or fiction, these theories present an extremely provocative theory that capably satisfies a vast and eager public.