Hannah Campbell came to her school board meeting to do what student representatives do: share her perspective with the adults elected to make decisions about her education. What she got instead was a board member putting his arm around her, telling her she was "hot," and asking where she went to school.

"God, you're hot. Do you know that? Damn. Where do you go to school at?" Keith Ervin said as he hugged her at the April 2 meeting.

Other board members laughed. The meeting moved on. And when the community demanded Ervin be removed, the board censured him and let him keep his seat.

Hannah came back. She stood before the same board and called them "cowards." She was right.

"To begin, I want to address Ervin's actions, which were not only unwelcome, but sexist and derogatory," Campbell said. "I know this because he has not behaved this way with any of our male members, nor do I believe that he ever would."

"The failure to act on the board's behalf was and is equivalent to his actions as it has hurt me just as much," she added.

Ervin claims he meant she was "on a roll." But his explanation does not change what he said, how he said it, or the fact that he put his hands on a student without her consent. A teacher who behaved this way would be fired. An elected board member got a censure and kept his seat.

That double standard sends a message to every student in Washington County about how seriously this board takes their safety and dignity.

We are calling on Keith Ervin to resign from the Washington County Board of Education, and on the Tennessee Department of Education to require all school boards to adopt clear misconduct and removal procedures for elected members who harass students.

Hannah Campbell was brave enough to speak up. The least we can do is stand with her.