As students and professors continue to adjust to virtual learning, some live classes taking place over Zoom have reported anonymous trolls disrupting lectures.
Uninvited attendees joining Zoom meetings and interrupting by swearing, blasting music or using racial slurs has become a new occurrence with the shift to online classes. The act is so common that there is a newly-coined term to describe it: “Zoom-bombing.”
Samarth Wachche, a first-year computer science student, said he experienced Zoom-bombing firsthand when a troll joined one of his computer science classes.
The troll, who was decked out in a baseball cap, face mask and sunglasses, joined the Zoom lecture and was blasting music and playing fart noises on a portable speaker before they eventually left, Wachche said.
“This happened while the professor was saying something important to us and for a university lecture, this was really unprofessional,” he added.
For professors who might not be familiar with Zoom, these interruptions can sometimes force classes to end early.
Arjun Pathak, a first-year software engineering student, had a similar experience during his chemistry class, when two trolls interrupted and started using racial slurs as the professor was speaking.
Pathak said although his professor muted the class in an attempt to silence the trolls, students could still hear each other—and the trolls. As a result, the class was forced to end early and continue asynchronously, which meant more work for students and the professor, he added.
While professors can use proactive measures to curb the presence of trolls, such as installing passwords or waiting rooms, these can be an added barrier for students with connection issues.
“The professor can’t pay attention to the waiting room while teaching class, so if my Internet disconnects, I have to wait a while in the waiting room … and I miss the content being taught,” Pathak said.
Collins Ayoo, a Carleton economics professor, said he witnessed disrespectful and “vulgar” language used in his live classes and chat rooms.
“I expect students to behave well, but I cannot confirm that all attendees are students,” Ayoo said in an email.
Ayoo added some anonymous attendees have even been able to make themselves co-hosts and disrupt his class delivery.
Despite these issues, Ayoo said he has managed to continue his classes as best as he can.
Beth Gorham, director of university communications, said while these sorts of incidents at Carleton have been limited so far, the school treats them seriously.
“We work closely with instructors to secure their sessions and advocate strongly that they adopt best practices in Zoom security,” Gorham said in an email.
If disruptions do occur, Gorham said the incident is reported to the appropriate individuals and campus departments, including student affairs or Zoom itself when necessary.
Gorham added that instructors are able to quickly remove disruptive individuals from a class and the university will continue to have staff on call to support instructors.
Featured graphic by Etta Gerrits.
