Anyone who has regularly used Zoom during the pandemic will attest that, after a while, it's easy to forget that the camera is on, and this had disastrous consequences for one woman after she accidentally went to the toilet in front of 140 people.
According to the New York Post, Frances Cogelja resigned as a trustee of the Hackensack Board of Education in New Jersey after she brought her laptop into the bathroom to continue to participate in a Zoom meeting.
Unaware that her camera was reportedly still on, Cogelja, who previously described the LGBT curriculum as "disgusting", went to the bathroom in front of a staggering 140 people, including a number of students.
The embarrassing incident was later addressed by the board's vice president, Scott James-Vickery.
"As far as I'm concerned, while our teachers are being professional and you’re at home, sitting on the toilet, we are moving on with this district doing what's best," he said.
The board announced Cogelja's resignation on Tuesday afternoon and they have until January 29 to replace her position.
During the meeting, James-Vickery told Cogelja: "You need to go."
"We’re here trying to get work done while you’re sitting on the toilet," he raged.
NorthJersey.com reported that when a new law required LGBT history to be taught on the curriculum, Cogelja said that she was "disgusted and appalled" by the change.
"I find it repugnant that someone's sexual preferences have anything to do with their contributions or achievements in society," Cogelja wrote in an email to acting Superintendent Rosemary Marks in February of this year.
She added: "Everywhere I turn, this alternate lifestyle narrative is being shoved (down) our children's throats. Where does it end???"
According to the publication, many parents called for her resignation at a subsequent meeting.
The New York Post reached out to Cogelja regarding her resignation over the Zoom incident, but she declined to comment.
"I will not have a statement," she said when the publication reached out to her over the phone.
Cogelja, however, is far from the only person to make a blunder on Zoom not realizing that their actions were being publicized in 2020.
This teen who bad-mouthed her teacher during a Zoom class quickly learned her mic wasn't muted.
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