#OpBridgewater - Origin of The Five Points

Part One

According to the Social Security Administration, the onset of my disability came the day I was falsely imprisoned and my civil rights were violated by campus authorities at Bridgewater State College.  Now that I've had time to contemplate the events of that day, I now refer to it as, a case of medical kidnapping.  However, during the time that members of Campus Police handcuffed me and transported me to Brockton Hospital, I was still treated with a modicum of dignity.

Yet when I arrived at Brockton Hospital and the handcuffs were removed, that's is when the real maltreatment began.  When I asked questions about why I was transported to that hospital in handcuffs, or as to why I was forced to stay in a psych ward, I received no satisfactory answers.  The situation got worse when I was given medications.  I thought I they were going to give me painkillers for my angina.  Instead, I was given lithium carbonate which caused hallucinations.

As stated in the Summary Judgement, I'd suffered an attack of angina after the campus police handcuffed me.  As a stroke survivor with a physician and insurance, I was sure that the doctors at Brockton Hospital would at least get the information necessary to do their jobs properly, but my concerns were ignored.  To my knowledge they did nothing corroborate any of the false information they'd received from Dr. Seibert-Larke of the Bridgewater State College Counseling Center.

I was rendered disabled because of the incident according to the Social Security Administration.  This was devastating because, though I'd suffered a debilitating stroke in 2000, I was still able to avoid disability and stay in school.  After six days in the psych ward at Brockton Hospital, I could no longer function intellectually as I had before I was forced to undergo their treatments.  Sadly enough, I still suffer from an intellectual disability I didn't have before the events of April 15, 2004.

The Orb of Oya by Al Wiggins Jr

#OpBridgewater - In The Beginning

Part Three

A Campus Policy (Revisited) During the time I was still a student at Bridgewater State College, the Dean of Student Affairs said campus policy, "guides the reinstatement process". The first paragraph stated: A student may be required to seek professional help if physical and psychological health problems place that student's life in potential danger; impair that his/her ability to maintain an academic program; or when his/her behavior is a serious disruption to others. That kind of thing works when the doctors actually do their jobs and examine their patients.

Bridgewater State sets price for records request over $60,000

However, on April 15, 2004, no doctor examined me, I was never brought before a judge--both of which are required by Massachusetts state law--and I was still removed from campus in handcuffs.   Furthermore, at every opportunity Dr. Grace Siebert-Larke avoided contact with me, and during the entire sordid episode, the doctor continually made assertions about my character and my life that were not true. Worse yet, as a hospitalized student I got no advocacy from the Counseling Center staff, who let me languish in the psych ward at Brockton Hospital past the time allowed by the state of Massachusetts (I got six days, but the state limit at the time was four days).

#OpBridgewater - In The Beginning

Part Two

I was never informed at anytime, by either Dean of Student Affairs, Tony Esposito, or the Counseling Center staff, what specific “physical or psychological health problems” I had which could “potentially place that student’s life in danger; impair her/his ability to maintain an academic program; or when his/her behavior is a serious disruption to others."  But when doctors and social workers lie to protect each other, you had better believe that their opinions of you will not be very high.

After 24 years at BSU, Onset's Dana Mohler-Faria wishes he could have helped 'one more'

While I was recovering from ordeal in the psych ward at Brockton Hospital, I was declared academically unfit. Dr. Grace Siebert-Larke and Wayne Assing, LICSW, had a talk with Dean of Student Affairs, Tony Esposito.  Somehow the doctor and the social worker actually convinced Dean Esposito to declare me academically unfit.  I had good marks in my classes at the time I was involuntarily committed and I was never examined by a doctor, so what was the basis for Dean Esposito's decision?  Not one member of the Bridgewater State College Counseling Center talked to anyone in the History department at the time their decision was reached, and none of them knew I was recovering from a stroke I'd suffered in 2000.

#OpBridgewater - In The Beginning

Part One

On April 15, 2004, I was involuntarily committed at the request of Dr. Grace Siebert-Larke.  At the time she was Head of the Counseling Center on the campus of Bridgewater State College (now Bridgewater State University) in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. I was not examined by her.  

Letter: Waiver of Liability by Dana Mohler-Faria, President of Bridgewater State.pdf

As the result of the actions taken against me by Dr. Siebert-Larke and other members of the Counseling Center, in an unprovoked and unwarranted attack on my civil rights, I was escorted from my class at the Bridgewater State College library by law enforcement officers of Bridgewater State College Campus Police, led by Chief David Tillinghast.  

In an unnecessary display of force authorized by the Counseling Center, I was handcuffed, and then questioned by Chief Tillinghast.  After my person was searched, I was escorted off campus and transported to the psychiatric ward at Brockton Hospital without a hearing before a judge.   

Bridgewater State rape case timeline

These humiliating events took place in spite of the fact that I had an unblemished record as a student at Massachusetts colleges, no record of violent crime anywhere in twenty-two years of civilian life, and not so much as a traffic ticket in the state of Massachusetts.  

Operation Bridgewater - Introduction

The origins of Operation Bridgewater (#OpBridgewater) are directly linked to a report entitled: Anatomy of a Cover-up: The curious case of Alfred Wiggins Jr. v. Bridgewater State College and others.

The report is about the various aspects of the case that I thought were most important at the time, and that resonate with me still. These aspects include, but are not limited to, the means by which I was unlawfully and forcibly hospitalized at the behest of the Counseling Center on the campus of Bridgewater State on April 15, 2004.

I am writing and producing this report so I may demonstrate just how easy it was for campus authorities at the Counseling Center to create the appearance of an "emergency situation" through the use erroneous information about my career in the military, and the stereotypes that were created by the head of the Counseling Center then passed onto campus authorities.  Both served to cast negative aspersions on my career in the United States Army.

In order to give this subject the best, most detailed treatment possible, I will use the Bridgewater State Counseling Center's records, as well as the medical records accrued during my stay at Brockton Hospital in 2004. These documents must suffice since both Bridgewater State and Brockton Hospital provide the bulk of written information about the case.

This site is designed to use my experiences in higher education to help educate veterans, their advocates, healthcare professionals, educators and any other individuals concerned about the rights of honorable, law-abiding and aspiring veterans who seek to improve themselves through academic pursuits.

About Mister Al - Part Two

I was falsely imprisoned by campus police at the library on the campus of Bridgewater State College on April 15, 2004, but it wasn't until August 2004 that I first viewed the spurious profile created by Dr. Grace Seibert-Larke.  At that time, Dr. Seibert-Larke was a psychologist at the Bridgewater State College Counseling Center.  The shocking revelations of the doctor’s bias against my military service, as well as her religious bigotry, changed my life in ways I’d never dreamed possible or necessary.

Photo by Al Wiggins Jr

The campaign of character assassination began just weeks before my civil rights were violated by campus authorities at Bridgewater State. The most harmful slanders Dr. Seibert-Larke and other campus officials used against me were derived from misinformation about my military service and ugly, pervasive stereotypes about men and women who’ve served our nation faithfully and with honor.

Photo by Al Wiggins Jr

While I waited for campus authorities to act on my behalf, which they never did, I took solace in writing short stories and blogging. The short stories were never released but, strangely enough, my initial attempts at blogging became a source of entertainment for others and myself.  I chose to compose music, build websites and write my stories in order to transform what was once mausoleum of memories into a creative outlet and a source of much happiness.

Photo by Al Wiggins Jr

#OpBridgewater: Required Reading 4

Final Response to BSC President Dana Mohler-Faria.pdf

#OpBridgewater: Required Reading 3

The Waiver of Liability 

by Dana Mohler-Faria 

President of Bridgewater State

Letter: Waiver of Liability by Dana Mohler-Faria, President of Bridgewater State.pdf

#OpBridgewater: Required Reading 2

A Letter to Bridgewater State President,  Mr. Dana Mohler-Faria

The Curious Case of Al Wiggins Jr v. Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater, MA | Original Complaint.pdf

#OpBridgewater: Required Reading 1

The Summary Judgement

Alfred Wiggins Jr v Bridgewater State College.pdf