Peering out into the void of online learning, both teachers and students often face a virtual classroom of black squares and static photos of classmates.

Two Cornell University instructors have discovered that most students don’t like to appear on video during online classes because they are concerned about how they look.

Mark Sarvary and Frank Castelli studied why a majority of students — 90% of the 276 students they surveyed — kept their video cameras off during class. More than 41% of students said it was because they were concerned about their appearance.

Sarvary and Castelli are on the staff at Cornell’s Investigative Biology Teaching Laboratories, where Sarvary is the director of laboratories and Castelli is the co-instructor and active learning initiative postdoctoral researcher. They were designing their own online course when they wondered how video use would be embraced by their students.

Their study results — “Why students do not turn on their video cameras during online classes and an equitable and inclusive plan to encourage them to do so,” published in Ecology and Evolution in January 2021 — found that self-consciousness was key.

Among Black, Hispanic or Latino, and American Indian or Alaska Natives students — defined as underrepresented minorities (URMs) in the study — 38% said they “were concerned about people and their physical environment being seen behind them,” compared with 24% of non-URMs.

“Everyone else had theirs off and I felt awkward having mine on,” one student in the study stated simply.

“I am able to focus more in Zoom class/meetings if my camera and mic are turned off,” tweeted Rahul Raman, a Ph.D. candidate at Texas A&M University, on Twitter about camera use. “In the in-person class, we 'see' our instructor and vice versa, we don't 'stare'. Online thing is more like staring than seeing.”

From their survey results, they recommend that educators explicitly encourage camera use, but don't mandate it. Most times, encouragement worked with students, they said, noting that students also told them they were grateful it was not required.

“Another important strategy is to explain to the students why — so students have better buy in ... if they understand why you're asking for these things,” Castelli said.

Teachers can better pace a lesson when they can see students’ faces, he said. They can receive nonverbal feedback if students look bored or confused. Students benefit from seeing each other. And when instructors see faces, they do not feel like they are talking to the void and have higher satisfaction — in turn, making them better instructors, Castelli said.

“Research has shown that having an instructor who's doing a poor job is a leading reason to leave STEM. So, you want an instructor to do a good job,” he explained.

Using video camera has its downsides, too.

“This pandemic itself is causing stress on people. And that the sub-categories of people — which show even higher increase in stress — are those who are more likely to be our college students, young adults, and then also demographic groups that are more likely to be URMs in STEM,” he said.

“So, it's stressful out there and having to force someone to put on their camera when they're in an environment that's embarrassing or not comfortable would just contribute to that stress,” Castelli explained.

For those who do not use their cameras — either because they are unable or unwilling — the instructions have recommendations for participation, including speaking with the microphone, answering polls that instructors use and engaging in the chat function.

Sarvary also said mandating video use can backfire.

“That never works out well, especially not in large, diverse courses like ours, because the different students face different challenges,” he said. Challenges included being in an environment where others are sharing space, as well as difficulties unrelated to the pandemic.

Student privacy experts say that a camera use mandate could violate the Constitution, specifically the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable government searches and seizures.

Ruth Chane, a computer science major from Ethiopia, writes about her experiences settling into student life at Whitman College in the U.S. state of Washington.

"The community at Whitman College made sure I felt welcomed even before I stepped foot on campus," she says.

Read her essay here.

In The Student Life, the student newspaper for the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of five liberal art colleges and two graduate schools in Claremont, California, student Rochelle Lu writes about readjusting to her Shanghai home after spending a semester in the United States.

Read the full story here.

Cedarville University in the U.S. state of Ohio says it’s got more than 140 international students representing 44 countries.

Here, the school interviews Jonathan Sutton, director of international student services. He talks about his job and the opportunities for international students on campus.

Read the full article here.

Morehouse College, a private, historically Black liberal arts college in the U.S. state of Georgia, offers a guide for international students interested in attending the school.

Among the tips to apply and thrive at Morehouse:

• Take advantage of the school’s orientation program
• Turn to the school’s Center for Academic Success for tutoring, support and more
• Immerse yourself in campus life via clubs and societies

Read the full article here.

WASHINGTON — 

The administration of President Donald Trump said on Monday it will review Columbia University's federal contracts and grants over allegations of antisemitism, which it says the educational institution has shown inaction in tackling.

Rights advocates note rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias since U.S. ally Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza began after Palestinian Hamas militants' deadly October 2023 attack.

The Justice Department said a month ago it formed a task force to fight antisemitism. The U.S. Departments of Health and Education and the General Services Administration jointly made the review announcement on Monday.

"The Federal Government's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is considering Stop Work Orders for $51.4 million in contracts between Columbia University and the Federal Government," the joint statement said.

The agencies said no contracting actions had been taken yet.

"The task force will also conduct a comprehensive review of the more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments to Columbia University."

The agencies did not respond to requests for comment on whether there were similar reviews over allegations of Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias.

Columbia had no immediate comment. It previously said it made efforts to tackle antisemitism.

College protests

Trump has signed an executive order to combat antisemitism and pledged to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests.

Columbia was at the center of college protests in which demonstrators demanded an end to U.S. support for Israel due to the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's assault on Gaza. There were allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia in protests and counter-protests.

During last summer's demonstrations around the country, classes were canceled, some university administrators resigned and student protesters were suspended and arrested.

While the intensity of protests has decreased in recent months, there were some demonstrations last week in New York after the expulsion of two students at Columbia University-affiliated Barnard College and after New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered the removal of a Palestinian studies job listing at Hunter College.

A third student at Barnard College has since been expelled, this one related to the occupation of the Hamilton Hall building at Columbia last year.