Distinguished Speaker Brian Greene was welcomed with open arms and thunderous applause this week at Alumni Arena. The ideas he brought to campus included string theory and possible other dimensions where, theoretically, a race of tiny green men could live and thrive.
Other far-out theories haven't been welcomed to campus as warmly. When Scientology made its debut at UB and its spot in The Commons was announced, the student reaction was characterized by mixed feelings and a general unsettled discomfort.
Granted, one theory was a joke told at a physics lecture and the other is a church whose goals include converting students to its faith. But UB sports several well-known organizations of belief that haven't been greeted with a shoulder as cold as the first snow of the season, including Hillel and Campus Crusade for Christ.
Greene went on from that joke to explain the Uncertainty Principle. Basically, the more you know about one aspect of existence (for example, location in space), the less you know about another (velocity). He described how even everyday objects are subject to this principle -- though an object may be standing still, some amount of uncertainty about its existence can still occur.
When uncertainty about the nature of life and death occurred, multiple theories sprang up to try to explain why we're here and what we should be doing. Some of these religions have been around for two thousand years, and some, like Scientology, have become really well known just past this new millennium.
I can't say I believe the stories about souls being trapped in a planet net and being reborn in a volcano, but I still support the idea of this theory being made available to students on campus. Whether you're browsing for facts on the Internet or vegging out in front of the Daily Show, chances are the information you're going to get isn't 100 percent accurate. And a location on campus is a convenient spot for students to learn the real facts about a new belief.
The Distinguished Speaker described micro-space as the distance in between atoms and electrons: so small, space itself boils with turbulence and uncertainty. If you're interested in hearing about this and the other things Greene spoke about, look to this issue's coverage of the event on the front page.
But if you're not, keep the imagery in your head and consider that for some students, Scientology has been helpful in calming the boiling doubts about a turbulent an uncertain universe.
The concerns shared by skeptics criticize the religion's legitimacy and motives. The rumors you might have heard on television or from your friends (who, most likely, haven't paid a visit to the Buffalo Church of Scientology yet) include moneymaking schemes and lies based off of a fictional work.
According to Teresa Reile at the Church of Scientology Buffalo, "We are a church, a non-profit, 501C3." She says that every cent that the church is given through donations goes towards their "social betterment" programs including counseling for relationship problems, drugs, and family issues.
Scientology is indeed a legally recognized religion in the United States, and in many other countries including Australia and Denmark.
If you want to know more about string theory or physics, check out Brian Greene's "The Elegant Universe" and his other works. But if you're interested in contributing to the debate about Scientology on campus, do some research with L. Ron Hubbard's work or with the local Church of Scientology.
If there's an organization on campus-any organization-that can help students boiling with uncertainty about the universe, I warmly welcome it with open arms.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
