USA: Frances Cogelja takes the entire Zoom meeting to the toilet

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  While the zoom discussion is still going on, Frances Cogelja grabs her laptop and walks to the toilet with it.

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  Frances Cogelja has resigned from the school board in New Jersey (USA) after the faux pas.

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  Zoom meetings have increased significantly, especially since the corona pandemic.

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  But the meetings can also have pitfalls.

For many, meetings using zoom have become indispensable since the corona pandemic. In times of home office and strict distance regulations, such video conferences have become an integral part.

The pitfalls of the tool are now also known. There is hardly a meeting at which a participant does not forget to switch on his microphone or has not switched on the computer camera properly.

A similar thing has now happened to Frances Cogelja. As a member of the New Jersey (USA) school board, Cogelja attended a Zoom meeting with around 150 people on Monday evening (local time).

What initially works without any problems then turns – for Cogelja – extremely unpleasant.

While the zoom discussion is still going on, Cogelja grabs her laptop and walks to the toilet with it. The other participants in the meeting can or must watch her the whole time. Because Cogelja switched off her microphone, but not her laptop camera.

The embarrassing incident has now spread on social networks. And it was not without consequences: In the meantime, Cogelja has vacated her post with the school authorities and has resigned.

Cogelja’s resignation had been petitioned for months. The reason for this was different: after the schools in New Jersey decided in the summer of 2019 to include the struggle of the LGBTQ community for more rights in history lessons, Cogelja said this decision made her “disgusted and horrified”. For weeks, she received massive criticism for her homophobic attitude.