Overseas Zoom-Bomber Disrupts Feminist Student Meeting, Police Say

Arlington MA

27 March, 2021

3:54 PM

Description

Your Arlington Last Updated: 27 March 2021 UPDATED: A person suspected of being overseas impersonated an Arlington High School student during a videoconference advisory class hosted by a student feminist group on Wednesday, March 24, and made misogynistic comments in a group chat and displayed what appeared to be a gun, according to the school's principal. A teacher quickly ended the meeting of the Young Feminist Alliance after the Zoom-bomber appeared, Principal Matthew Janger said in an email message to families. Arlington police believe the intruder joined the call from overseas, Janger said in a follow-up message to families Thursday, which he confirmed March 27. There is no reason to believe the act was initiated locally or that a student was involved, he wrote. Want to help Young Feminist Alliance? Click here >> Superintendent Kathleen Bodie said in a statement Thursday, reported by The Globe, that she was "very disappointed" by the incident and that the sight of an apparent gun "was naturally upsetting to students and staff given recent gun violence events in our country. "We will continue to review our security policies to prevent intruders from gaining access to school Zoom meetings, and have made resources available to students and staff in response to this incident," The Globe reported Bodie said. Reported to rights commission "Any incident involving hate is also reported to the Arlington Human Rights Commission," Janger told families. "Unfortunately, this incident comes in the context of recent gun violence and hate incidents involving violence against women. "We worry both about the corrosive effects of bias on our community and our sense of safety overall. Arlington High School is committed to creating a safe, supportive, and inclusive learning environment," he wrote. "Bullying, bias, harassment, degrading language, and other mean-spirited behavior are not tolerated at Arlington High School. Some steps we are taking and recommendations: "We will be reviewing and upgrading our security for zoom calls. "Counselors and administrators are available to support students or others. Please reach out for any reason. "We will have extra police presence at the high school. "Please reach out to administrators if you have any information about this incident. "Arlington High School has many student affinity groups that represent diverse communities and focus on inclusivity. The affinity groups range from cultural interests, to political or academically focused groups, and so much more. We encourage students to join these groups to find and create supportive communities. We also work to create venues in advisory and classes for students to discuss challenging incidents in our community or the news. These conversations help us to support the relevance and relationships of our learning community." YourArlington.com has provided news and opinion about Arlington, Mass., since 2006. Publisher Bob Sprague is a former editor at The Boston Globe, Boston Herald and Arlington Advocate. Read more at https://www.yourarlington.com/about.