University of Miami professor resigns after students see 'busty college girl' bookmark during Zoom call
Petition calling for him to be reinstated has been signed more than 2,000 times
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Your support makes all the difference.A university professor has resigned after accidentally showing students a bookmark to a link for “busty college girl” while screen-sharing during a Zoom call.
On 26 March, University of Miami Professor John Peng Zhang was teaching a virtual business analytics class when one student realised that the professor’s screen had a link for “Busty College girl fu,” according to the school’s newspaper The Miami Hurricane.
At the time, the student reportedly pointed out the link to the entire class via his microphone, prompting other students in the class to take pictures and record their professor’s screen.
One clip of the incident, which has since been deleted, was shared to TikTok where it was viewed more than 800,000 times, according to the outlet.
Zhang reportedly addressed the clip with his class the next time they met and apologised for the error.
“I don’t know how it happened,” he said, according to The Hurricane. “I didn’t see it, I’m pretty sure everybody else did…My apologies to the class.”
However, shortly after, students in the class were informed that their professor had been replaced by other members of staff.
In a statement to NBC News, a university spokesperson confirmed Zhang had resigned following the incident.
“The University of Miami aggressively investigates all complaints of inappropriate behaviour or sexual harassment," the school said in a statement. "After receiving a complaint through the University's ethics hotline, the incident was investigated by the Office of the Provost, Title IX investigator and Miami Herbert Business School.
“The University can confirm that John Peng Zhang resigned and is no longer employed at the University of Miami."
Students in the class, including the one who had originally shared the clip to TikTok, have since expressed remorse over Zhang’s departure.
“I felt bad about the attention it was getting,” he told The Hurricane. “I didn’t want him to lose his job…I thought he would be fine…I felt really bad for him.”
A petition calling for Zhang to be reinstated as a professor at the university, where the incident is described as “obviously a mistake,” has been signed by more than 2,000 people as of Thursday.
“People make mistakes, are sexual beings, and should not be fired when no true porn was shared,” the petition reads. “We no longer live in the 18th century and individuals are allowed to have a personal, sexual life. This was obviously a mistake.”
The Independent has contacted the University of Miami for comment.
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