Scientology center sparks debate

Scientology has come to UB, and as one might expect from the often-controversial religion, its new center in The Commons has some people on campus upset over the arrival.

Part of the concern has come from other religiously affiliated groups that point to Scientology's cult reputation. Dalene Aylward, the convener of the Campus Ministries Association, said she is worried about the group's past history and its perception as a reclusive organization.

"One of the most important things with any questionable organization is to find out what's true," Aylward said. "That's my main concern because of their past history and typical practices."

Scientology typically charges for their services, called auditing classes, and costs can get into the tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to Aylward.

"I don't understand how they think they can do business here, or at any college. Students are working long hours to pay for tuition," she said. "Many already take out loans, so I'd hate to see students go into debt to purchase their auditing classes."

Other members of campus-affiliated groups have also expressed concern.

"I am not excited about this," said Mike Krantz of Trading Post 317, part of the Campus Ministries Association. "This is ultimately very detrimental, and I wish I had more details."

"The things I've heard, the rumors, are that (Scientology) was started as a bet," said Andrew Hill of the Bridge Campus Ministry, "The founder isn't credible."

L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, is best known as a science fiction writer who has also been accused of bigamy, abuse and stealing government documents.

The Campus Ministries Association has said that if the Church of Scientology wants to join the organization, they will have to apply. On the wall in the office of the CMA, there is a chart of cults and Scientology is right in the middle.

"You have to submit an application. There's an interview and a vote by everyone in the CMA," Aylward said. "Groups have been turned away in the past."

UB administrators have also been aware of the center's addition to campus.

"There's no question that when somebody new moves in the neighborhood and concerns are expressed about them, (you) have to go into it with eyes wide open," said Dennis Black, vice president for student affairs. "This is a group that people have referred to as a cult or cult-like, so we certainly need to be aware and sensitive to that."

"We've got standards here at the university and we've got to be sure that new people understand and adhere to those standards," he added. "And obviously, we want to be alert to possible problems and be prepared to deal with them as necessary."

One way for students to avoid such problems is to make informed choices when affiliating themselves with any organization. Black compared such decisions to researching a class before signing up to take it.

Aylward said students should remember Black's advice when approaching Scientology.

"Students just need to be aware of any organization that has specific allegations of wrongful death, and other illegal activities," Aylward said.

A dangerous association

This year, in fact, is the ten-year anniversary of one such alleged wrongful death associated with the Church of Scientology.

On Dec. 5 1995, Lisa McPherson was pronounced dead on arrival at New Port Richey Hospital in Clearwater, Fla., and for seven years afterwards, a battle was waged in the courtroom over the wrongful death lawsuit that was finally settled in June 2004.

According to St. Petersburg Times articles published in 1997, McPherson was in a minor car accident that November. While she was apparently not hurt by the accident, she took all her clothes off and seemed mentally unstable. She was taken to a hospital where she was physically evaluated as being unharmed, but the hospital wanted her under psychological care.

However, her fellow Scientologists arrived and stated that Lisa did not believe in psychiatry, and she checked out after a short evaluation and left with her church members.

At that point, according to the Times, McPherson was brought to the Fort Harrison Hotel, where she was put on the "Introspection Rundown," a program that Scientology uses to handle those who have had mental breakdown. The program calls for isolation from family, friends and any other person that is not a member of the Church of Scientology, according to the church's agreement and general release regarding spiritual assistance.

After having been in the church's care for 17 days, McPherson was brought to hospital again and the coroner documented that she was underweight, severely dehydrated, and had bruises and bug bites.

In June 2004, the estate of Lisa McPherson and the Church of Scientology reached an out-of-court settlement, the terms of which were confidential.

Denouncing psychology

More recently, Scientology has been in the spotlight because of actor and Scientologist Tom Cruise, who made headlines this summer for denouncing psychiatry and its treatments on the Today show.

"The thing is they take advantage of the lack of proof of causality," said Greg Privitera, a UB Ph.D. candidate in psychology and a lecturer. "Do you have abnormal brain physiology, or does a stressor in the environment cause your brain physiology to change? (Then) you're a schizophrenic."

This thinking can be seen in the case of Jeremy Perkins, a Buffalo Scientologist with paranoid schizophrenia who stabbed his mother 77 times because he thought she had an "evil eye."

Elli Perkins was treating her son's disease with vitamins, according to the four-part Buffalo News series about Scientology that ran last January.

Regardless, Privitera said, behavior--meaning normal or abnormal psychology--isn't possible without physiology.

"It seems logical, that between initial cause and behavior, physiology must be involved," he said. "To dismiss physiology contradicts the major basis of scientific theory."

Open eyes, ears and minds

Regardless of the bad press Scientology has received, UB will not be taking any steps to hinder the center's outreach to students or their move into The Commons.

"This campus is probably the biggest marketplace for ideas in the country," Black said. "We're not big on censorship. We're not going to sit here and say, 'These are words and groups we like, so you can come in. These are words and groups we don't like, so you can't come in.' "

As long as the organization abides by the rules of the university, the administration welcomes their addition to the community.

"We all have our own set of interests and prejudices, but the fact is that this is a group that's legal," Black said. "This group is not an undercover organization barred from society. This is an organization that owns a building in downtown Buffalo that the mayor went to a grand opening for."

"That it may be a pariah to some and it's a prophet to others," he added. "We're going to judge the organization the same way that we judge other organizations and students: by conduct."

If concerns are expressed about the group's compliance with UB rules, Black said they will be immediately addressed.

"We have rules here against harassment, against solicitation and against disruption or interfering with operations on campus. We have rules here against putting people at physical or mental risk and endangering their safety," Black said. "We apply those rules to individuals and organizations-nobody's above that."

In the end, though, it's not up to the university to decide who can or cannot espouse their views on campus.

"Who picked us to decide who can talk and who can't? Who picked us to decide who can march and who can't? That's not our rule," Black said.