EASTHAMPTON — A high school student is advocating that the city require all of its employees to undergo training on microaggressions after she and others in the district have had their “ethnic hair” touched by others without consent.

The Easthampton High School student brought her request to the City Council’s attention virtually during the public comment portion of Wednesday’s meeting. She said the actions she was reporting also include comments intended to make fun of students with ethic hair.

Although councilors are not allowed to respond to comments made during that portion of the meeting as it would violate the state’s Open Meeting Law, several have since voiced concerns and supported the proposal of additional training.

“It troubles me deeply to hear testimonies like the one we heard yesterday from one of our Easthampton students,” City Council President Homar Gomez said in a statement. “I want to be clear: No act of aggression or discrimination can be tolerated in our community. I appreciate the student testimony and I will be attentive to the development of this situation, especially because I hope that this student will face no retaliation due to their act of honesty and courage.”

Unwanted touching of hair is a form of microaggression, which is defined as “the everyday, subtle, intentional — and oftentimes unintentional — interactions or behaviors that communicate some sort of bias toward historically marginalized groups,” according to Kevin Nadal, a professor of psychology who has spent years researching and writing books on microaggressions.

At-Large Councilor Brad Riley said the student’s experience was disheartening, but not surprising. Riley said that cultural notions of hair have controlled biological hair, with “an underlying assumption that certain bodies belong to” the majority.

“We see this with men who dominate women’s bodies, and white people who do not respect the autonomy of Black and Indigenous bodies. It’s pervasive throughout our society, and it’s unacceptable. Especially in Easthampton,” Riley said in a statement. “We need to be better.”

At-Large Councilor Owen Zaret called comments about an individual’s ethnicity or unwelcome touching of someone’s hair or body “inexcusable.” Everyone in the community deserves to be treated with respect and dignity, he said.

“This is especially true for our students and youth who look to the schools and community to set an example for behavior,” Zaret said in a statement. “Living in a predominantly white community it is even more imperative that we seek to be welcoming and anti-racist.”

In 2020, Zaret said he introduced a rule requiring city councilors to take such training, but it never came to fruition.

School response

The student’s claims were also new to the school district, according to Superintendent Allison LeClair, who said no concerns of this nature have been brought to the high school administration, nor to the central office.

“We would most certainly address them if they had been,” LeClair said in an email.

The high school staff works to address issues related to student belonging and specifically around issues related to diversity, inclusion and equity, she said.

Staff have attended several training sessions on ways to support youth, including workshops on how to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer, or LGBTQ, students; Black, Indigenous and people of color, or BIPOC, students; and neurodiverse students.

“We are supportive of students feeling empowered to speak up at public meetings, but we would hope that any concerns could be discussed with the appropriate administrator first, so we can have the opportunity to address the issue,” LeClair said.

During the council meeting, the EHS student also advocated for the need to explain legislation, popularly known as the CROWN Act, which bans discrimination on natural and protective hairstyles, including braids, locks, twists, Bantu knots, and hair coverings in workplaces, school districts and school-related entities, boards or organizations. The CROWN Act, which she explained stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act,” was signed into law last year by then-Gov. Charlie Baker.

Although she was the only student to speak about microaggressions at the meeting, the student said other students and staff had experienced similar interactions. She thanked other students who also virtually attended the meeting for their support, and noted that she viewed the council gathering as a “safe” place with Gomez at the helm.

Gomez, who was elected to the council in 2017, is the first Latino elected to serve on the council as well as its first Latino president.

“We feel safe in this forum since we feel Mr. Gomez has ethnic roots, the same as us, and can really understand us and what we’re asking,” she said.

Hearing that the student felt Gomez would understand, Mayor Nicole LaChapelle called her testimony “heavy” in “how she feels heard and seen” in the city’s schools and city.

Since then, the mayor said she’s reached out to Gomez, LeClair, School Committee Chairperson Cynthia Kwiecinski and city counsel as to “how to best respond and investigate” the student’s experience.

“In the immediate, I am sorry with a determined commitment to root out bias in all departments,” LaChapelle said.

Councilor Riley is encouraging all students and educators seeking a policy solution to contact him directly at briley@easthamptonma.gov as he intends to work with his fellow council leadership to find policy solutions.

Gomez said he intends to see that “all necessary actions are taken to end this kind of situation,” to ensure it does not happen again.

“In every corner of our city, in every classroom and in every corridor of our schools, mutual respect between teachers, administrators, students and community members should be our guiding principle,” he said. “When we deviate from that path, we must act firmly and with conviction.”

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