UFOs crashing into fields, or a government testing site? Area 51 has raised some major questions since 1947, when an alleged UFO crashed onto a government air force base. Although this is true, the debate about aliens started long before the incident in Area 51, and will probably continue for many years to come.

AP Environmental Science and Biology teacher Mr. Brandon Shurter discusses the possibility of other life forms being out there.

“I believe that there is a possibility of other life out there,” Mr. Shurter said. “But there’s no solid evidence at this time.”

Senior Jenifer Wicklund agrees with Mr. Shurter, and explores the idea that humans are not alone in the galaxy.

“I believe they [aliens] exist. Statistically it is highly improbable for there not to be other sentient life out there,” Wicklund said. “There’s just so much space and it’d be kind of arrogant for us to believe that there’s no other intelligent race out there.”

However, senior Anthony Babbie disagrees with the idea that humans are just one of many life forms around the galaxy.

“I do not believe in aliens because God said that we are the only people in the universe and there’s no other people besides us,” Babbie said. “We’ve been on this earth for a lot of years and we have still not come in contact.”

Mr. Shurter has his own ideas of what aliens would be like if the human race ever came across them.

“I think it’s super interesting scientifically to think about what they’d be like and how they would compare to us,” Mr. Shurter said. “[Their motives are] to either learn from us or steal from us.”

Wicklund’s ideas about what aliens would be like and what their motives would be like differ from Mr. Shurter’s, however.

“I feel like even if we do end up contacting another race from another planet, we wouldn’t be able to understand each other or each other’s values,” Wicklund said. “I think they have the same motives as us: to learn, explore, expand, survive.”

Wicklund describes the distinction between the alien believers who think scientifically and those who are only fascinated by the unknown.

“Those who think from a scientific basis, I’ll give some credence to because it’s unlikely to think there wouldn’t be [aliens],” Wicklund said. “But for those people who think everything we’ve ever done is based on some alien overlord, I think they’re looney.”

Mr. Shurter shares Wicklund’s viewpoints in the fact that he views alien lovers from a scientific standpoint.

“I think that their imaginations [those who believe in aliens] can certainly be something cool to think about,” Mr. Shurter said. “Some people would say there’s lots of proof for aliens, [but] I would say that I don’t judge anyone because there’s certainly a lot of evidence both ways.”

However, Babbie disagrees with that notion, saying there’s no evidence that aliens exist.

“I believe they’re [others who believe in aliens] are just crazy scientists that think everything is real,” Babbie said. “But they have no proof of anything.”

Humans are known to be the most intelligent life form out there, but Wicklund isn’t positive that that’s true.

“If we were to meet them, they would probably be as intelligent or more than what we are currently capable of,” Wicklund said. “That is unless we traveled to a different planet and discovered them there, they might be less intelligent in that scenario.”

Scientists have established that there needs to be an earth-like planet sustainable for life in order for aliens to exist. Mr. Shurter agrees with them in their thinking.

“They would live on an earth-like planet in another solar system,” Mr. Shurter said.

Wicklund believes that aliens don’t live in a close proximity to earth.

“Just going on the facts that we haven’t encountered any aliens as of now, they would probably be at least closer to the other side of the galaxy or the universe from us,” Wicklund said. “ It’s a big space. It’s not unlikely [that’d we’d ever find each other] but it’s highly improbable given how far away we’d be from each other.”