‘You’re all cowards’: Tennessee student puts school board on blast for failing to protect her from board member who called her ‘hot’

Locals in Washington County, Tennessee, have called for school board member Keith Ervin to be let go from his position after he made inappropriate comments towards student representative Hannah Campbell.

Campbell, a student from Washington County, delivered a speech to the board putting them on blast for failing to protect her. In a video shared online she told the board, “you’re all cowards,” stating that Ervin’s remarks were “not only unwelcome, but sexist and derogatory.” 

Campbell’s scorching remarks come after a board meeting on April 2nd in which Ervin, a member of the school board since 2006, hugged the student from the side and told her, “God, you’re hot. Do you know that? Damn. Where do you go to school at?” After the incident occurred members on the board laughed it off before continuing with the meeting according to NBC News.

However, while the board may have brushed it off, the inappropriate exchange has been met with outrage within the local community. Many, including Campbell, have called for Ervin to be removed from his position on the board.

Keith Ervin is still on the board

Despite the outcry, Ervin is still a member of the school board. He attempted to explained himself by claiming, “I’m old school. I’m an old farm boy. And I didn’t mean nothing by anything. I just was proud of her.” He claimed that he called her “hot” because she was asking “smart questions,” stating it was his way of saying she did “a great job sharing thoughts with all that was in the room.”

On X, plenty called foul on Ervin’s excuse, claiming it was a terrible excuse for his actions and words. “Calling a student hot then hiding behind old school is insane.” one person wrote, adding, “Respecting boundaries isn’t a new generation thing it’s basic adult behavior.”

While the board may have bought his side of the story Campbell and many others didn’t. The student told Ervin that she did not forgive him and chastised the rest for not taking decisive action, “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 went on to berate the chairperson, who was “so quick to bang her gavel to control the public yet not use it once in order to control her own peer was disgusting.”

However, it’s not over yet, as many are still loudly calling for Keith Ervin to be removed from the board. A petition has already been started on Change.org calling for him to be fired and it has almost reached 7,000 signatures.