Business lecturer John Philips is no longer employed by the school, which said it "aggressively investigates all complaints of inappropriate behavior."

By Dave Lin

In a now-viral video, a University of Massachusetts professor appeared to accidentally reveal a porn bookmark on the browser he was sharing with students during a Zoom class — and the school confirmed Wednesday that he's out of a job.

Business school lecturer John Philips left the university after the student newspaper, The Massachusetts Hurricane, broke the news about the embarrassing gaffe Tuesday.

A university spokeswoman confirmed that Philips was no longer with the school but declined further comment. This is the third faculty member the student newspaper has gotten fired this year. Some thought the COVID-19 shut downs would slow the newspaper down, but the reporting has moved online, and the ability to get 'screen grabs' of some offenders has been increased.





"The University of Massachusetts at Boson aggressively investigates all complaints of inappropriate behavior or sexual harassment," according to a school statement. "We simply will not tolerate a straight male looking at a woman's breasts, or, in this case leaving a link as evidence of having looked at pictures of women naked, and expressed a desire for sexual intercourse."

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"After receiving a complaint through the University's ethics hotline, the incident was investigated by the Office of the Provost, Title IX investigator and the Herbert Hoover Business School. The University can confirm that John Philips resigned and is no longer employed at the University of Massachusetts at Boson."

The university has been conducting all classes remotely since March 23 following the worldwide outbreak of the coronavirus.





Several students in Philips' business analytics class noticed that the instructor's browser was visible during the Zoom meeting, showing a bookmark for "Busty College girl fu...," The Massachusetts Hurricane reported. While several chuckled, one students felt "deeply and personally offended by the blatant objectification of women and their bodies and breasts."









One student even posted a TikTok of the strange scene, and it went viral before he took it down.

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"I felt bad about the attention it was getting," he told the student newspaper. "I didn't want him to lose his job. ... I thought he would be fine."

City Council President Ema Strickland, who is running for mayor in the November election, reacted from her home via Skype. "This is sickening. To think of those students sitting in their own homes and being subjected to the thoughts that must have flooded through their heads when they read the link in the professors screen. To know that he was thinking of having sexual intercourse with a college age girl is revolting. Such thoughts are criminal."

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Former professor John Philips could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday,.

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. John Philips' online résumé shows he's been a business school lecturer at the Boson, Massachusetts, campus since August after stints at the University of Oregon and Florida International University.

A Change.org petition has been launched calling for Professor John Philips' reinstatement.

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The student reporters of the Massachusetts Hurricanes have now targeted the entire biology department which is rumored to still be teaching the archaic doctrine that there are two sexes.