Teen who made anti-gun-control video visited by child services, mother says

Update: Mother, son, district react to suspension. Manville school superintendent Anne Facendo said the allegations against the district are false but she can't respond because of federal and state student privacy laws.

MANVILLE -- In what the mother of a Manville High School senior describes as a retaliatory act by the district, the state department of child services stopped by her home Wednesday morning to speak with her son.

Manville school officials ordered a student who made an anti-gun control video to undergo a psychological evaluation before being allowed back in class, according to a report.

Mary Vervan's son, Frank Harvey, was suspended from Manville High School on Tuesday and ordered to undergo a psychological exam for completing an anti-gun-control school project he was assigned last year, she said.

Manville school officials said Harvey must undergo the psychological evaluation before he will be allowed back in class, said Vervan. She said she will not subject her son to such an evaluation for no reason.

"They came to my home trying to talk to my son," said Vernan. "I was at work. I told my son they have no right to talk to him. He refused to speak with them and they left. I'm not sure why they came. The school likely sent them out because they didn't like how things have come out in the media.

"This is harassment. I want them to leave us alone. My son is at home studying for his GED. There's no reason for this. They're just harassing us. I'm not going to have my son undergo a psychological exam based on a teacher's lies. I'm not going let them label him. I'm not going to roll over. My son and his welfare comes first."

An official at the Somerset Child Services was not able to comment. Manville school superintendent Anne Facendo was unavailable for comment.

Vervan said a Manville High School teacher instructed her son to create a video arguing against gun control for a junior college readiness class last year.

Harvey produced a video that provided examples of people who used guns to defend themselves from home invaders, she said. His video also displayed anti-gun-control political cartoons, she said.

"He got an A on the assignment," said Vervan. "Now, the teacher is denying she gave the assignment or approved the topic."

The teenager ran into trouble when he mistakenly left the thumb drive with the project on it in a computer in the school library. Someone found it on Monday and turned it over to the school administration, who then contacted police.

"The Manville police cleared my son," said Vervan. "They looked at his presentation and found nothing wrong. Other students did a similar presentation and nothing happened to them. My son got in trouble because he left his thumb drive."

District officials said Harvey would have to undergo a five-hour evaluation before being allowed back in school because the teacher said she didn't recall giving him the assignment, said Vervan.

Vervan said she attended Manville High School in the 1970s with current principal Dr. James Brunn. Last December, she said she returned to the area after living for a while in Shippensburg, Pa.

Harvey returned his books to the school on Tuesday and was given a withdrawal form, said Vervan. She said she hasn't been allowed to speak with the teacher.

"I'm trying to hire a lawyer now, especially since they've started to harass us," she said. "My son has done nothing wrong. I have no clue why they're doing this."

Dave Hutchinson may be reached at dhutchinson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DHutch_SL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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