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HYAC students praise inclusion and community; public comment includes extended anti‑DEI criticism
Summary
Three HYAC students told council they value diversity and inclusion in Holland and described youth civic engagement; a later speaker criticized DEI and urged attendance at a Nov. 11 state board meeting regarding new K‑12 health standards. Council accepted written correspondence into the record separately.
Three student members of HYAC (Holland Youth Advisory Council) addressed the council during public comment.
Angelie Polanco, a West Ottawa High School student who said she plans to study human resource management at Davenport University, described her HYAC service and bilingual community outreach. “Between learning a new language and translating bills for my parents, I realized that I was good at helping others,” Polanco said.
Brianna Munoz, a West Ottawa senior who said she plans to study public affairs at Wayne State, told council she appreciated the city’s steps to support the Hispanic community and cited bilingual signage, the international festival and Fiesta Week as examples of growing representation.
Juliana Madrigal, also a senior at West Ottawa, thanked council and staff for programs that make Holland welcoming and emphasized that families should feel safe and included in the community.
Later in the public‑comment period, a resident identified as Anne Henriksen made an extended comment critical of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts and described concerns about recently released state K‑12 health standards. Henriksen said the standards expose children to instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity and urged council and residents to attend a Michigan State Board of Education meeting on Nov. 11 to protest the standards. She provided an email address for follow‑up and framed her remarks as a call to action.
The council accepted written public comments submitted by email into the meeting record by motion earlier in the meeting; the emails themselves were not read aloud.
