Above is Cameron Crane speaking to the Marysville Board of Education about alleged incidents of antisemitism his children have experienced at the Early College High School and Bunsold Middle School.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson)
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Cameron Crane, a father of two students in the Marysville School District, told the board of education Thursday night that his children have been subjected to brutal slurs from other students.
But the rather than being tormented with words and acts rooted in hate for race or ethnicity, Crane’s said his children were facing religious harassment.
“Really this despicable hate shouldn’t really be accepted in any school environment,” Crane said.
He described how his son, an Early College High School (ECHS) student faced being called slurs, being asked by one student what his numbers were, in a reference to Jews being tattooed with numbers as a form of identification in concentration camps.
But his eighth grade daughter took the worst of the harassment, according to Crane.
He said daughter faced Nazi salutes in the halls, was called a “dirty Jew” and asked why she killed Jesus. On one instance she was told to return to Auschwitz, where the concentration camps were located.
“Really, ‘Go back to Auschwitz,’ is such a vile thing to hear,” Crane said.
Crane said his family has lived in four towns in Ohio and chose to relocate to Marysville for the school district, but now his family is being treated as outsiders within the school walls.
“It’s not a welcoming place for my children.”
Crane said he understands that the number of Jewish families in the area is small.
“I recognize we are a very small community, there are literally four Jewish families that I know of,” Crane said.
With Marysville’s population growing and changing rapidly, Crane said his concern is that students of other races and ethnicities will experience similar torment.
“I don’t want this for any group, for any religion,” Crane said “I certainly don’t want it as a father for my own children.
“It’s very brutal for us to face this sort of real harassment,” Crane said.
He was adamant that the administration at both schools were responsive to the situations. Crane said his daughter was reluctant to name the other students involved for fear of retribution. His son asked only for additional education for the student involved at ECHS.
Crane said he does not believe the students truly have hate in their hearts and urged the board to take action to help educate students and families in the district.
“I’m really asking the school board to consider some education for our school community around antisemitism and acceptance of other religions and other peoples in our community,” Crane said.
Board President Bill Keck expressed regret that Crane’s children endured such treatment and vowed that the district would take action. Superintendent Diane Allen said she would contact Crane personally to discuss the incidents further.
Asked for a response to Crane’s concerns after the meeting, Allen said his anxiety is justified.
“I would say that he’s absolutely right,” Allen said. “Every single kid that walks through our doors has the right to feel safe and should feel a sense of belonging.
“And if his son and daughter haven’t received that then we need to do a better job.”
Allen said she is definitely open to using this situation as a springboard to start a discussion on the dangers of antisemitism.
“Those opportunities, while definitely unfortunate and not acceptable, are an opportunity for us to learn and grow,” Allen said. “It comes back to some of our fundamental pillars and it doesn’t matter what you look like, where you come from, we’re gonna love you.”
“I’m certainly disappointed in what I heard, but we’ll learn and get better.”