Manville high school student says he was suspended for anti-gun control project

A Manville High School senior says that he was ordered to go for a psychological exam after an anti-gun control project he was assigned last year was found on his thumb drive at school. "I've never

News 12 Staff

Sep 28, 2016, 6:46 AM

Updated 2,764 days ago

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Manville high school student says he was suspended for anti-gun control project
A Manville High School senior says that he was ordered to go for a psychological exam after an anti-gun control project he was assigned last year was found on his thumb drive at school.
"I've never been a violent person," says Frank Harvey. "I've never had detention in my life."
Harvey was assigned the project during his junior year for a college career readiness class. He was tasked with putting together a video arguing against gun control laws.
"It was assigned by the teacher, and I got the topic, which was anti-gun control, approved by the teacher," he says.
The video cited examples where people have fended off home invaders using guns and argues people should be able to protect themselves. It uses political cartoons to suggest gun free zones won't work.
Harvey says he left his thumb drive that contained the project in the school's computer lab Monday. Someone apparently found it and alerted officials. Manville police questioned Harvey, but cleared him of any wrongdoing.
But Harvey says the Manville School District suspended him for the content on the thumb drive and said that he had to undergo a five-hour psychological exam before he could come back to school.
"I'm not taking him for a psychological evaluation because this teacher is lying and won't own up to what she did," says Harvey's mother Mary Vervan.
Harvey says his teacher told his family she couldn't remember assigning the project.
News 12 New Jersey reached out to the school district for comment. Superintendent Anne Facendo would only say, "The school district is not at liberty to make comment on any issue pertaining to confidential student information."
Harvey's mother says she will not allow her son to undergo the exam and decided to pull him out of school. Harvey says he will now work towards earning his GED.


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