-A couple of students seemed to walk past me and cough loudly this morning, before my class; one was female, one was male. They were separate incidents.
-For the second time this week, the same female janitor got to the bathroom with a mop bucket within minutes after I got to the bathroom. It could be a coincidence; I'm not sure.
During class:
-I asked a question of the teacher and then there was a male cough from the side of the classroom where there was a male student last week who was doing a lot of coughing. He was there today, and seems to have gotten a few male friends who sat near him.
-More coughing; I didn't know if he was coughing or if it were one or both of his friends, one of whom was wearing a purple and white plaid shirt today.
-The three of them had a conversation for at least ten minutes during class, while the teacher was talking. One of the other male students said "Guys," trying to get them to stop. They didn't.
-One of them was repeatedly coughing for several minutes. I couldn't tell which one it was.
Throughout all of this, I was trying to pay attention to what the teacher was saying.
-The conversation among the three men on the other side of the classroom continued. I finally asked them to stop. The one who was harassing me last week said "Sorry" sarcastically and then began to cough repeatedly and even more loudly. I said "I heard you the first several times that you were coughing; could you please stop doing that?"
He said something, which was probably a lie such as "I don't know what you're talking about." I didn't totally hear what he said because the teacher asked one of that group to move to another chair.
The one who was harassing me last week continued to cough loudly. A male student told him to stop, which he did for a few minutes, before he started again, more quietly. He continued to cough every few minutes until the end of class.
I have never done anything to that man or his friends, or to anyone else who has already targeted me at this school. They are the aggressors.
Nobody has the right to interfere with someone's ability to be at school. It was difficult to concentrate while the harassment was happening, and for several minutes after the worst of it.
There's no reason for what's happening.
Copyright L. Kochman, January 29, 2016 @ 12:15 p.m.
