Christian's suit against university goes forward

A federal judge has ruled a former Temple University student can proceed to trial in his suit against two school officials who he claims tried to commit him to a psychiatric ward because of his religious beliefs.

Michael Marcavage alleges William Bergman, Temple University vice president of operations, and Carl Bittenbender, managing director of Campus Safety Services, forcibly detained him and attempted to have him involuntarily committed in the school hospitals' pysch ward in the fall of 2000. The lawsuit seeks unspecified money damages from the administrators.

Marcavage had been working to offer a Christian alternative on campus to the play "Corpus Christi," which portrayed Christ and His disciples as homosexuals.

According to a statement from the American Family Association Center for Law and Policy, which is representing the former student, Bittenbender, in seeking to commit Marcavage, claimed the student had "inflicted or attempted to inflict serious bodily harm on another ..." and that Marcavage had "attempted suicide." He said there was a "reasonable probability" of suicide unless Marcavage received adequate treatment. The admitting form, by statute, requires that at least one of these factors be present before involuntary commitment can be sought, the law center said.

In denying the Temple officials' motion to dismiss the claims, Judge Petrese Tucker wrote, "Bittenbender ... (in his deposition) conceded that he had no knowledge of (Marcavage) threatening or causing harm to others," and he "also conceded that he had no knowledge of (Marcavage) attempting suicide. ..."

Brian Fahling, senior trial attorney for CLP, said, "What these men did to Marcavage is despicable, and now they are going to be held responsible for their actions. The arrogance and abuse of power evidenced in this case is particularly loathsome."

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