Dalhousie University will allow all the dental students involved in a misogynistic Facebook group to graduate.
President Richard Florizone said in a statement Friday the “men have taken ownership of their actions.”
In December, four female dental students complained to the university after they discovered their male classmates were making rape jokes about them in a private Facebook group.
As a result, 13 fourth-year dental students were suspended from clinical activities and all but one participated in a five-month, 1,500-hour restorative justice program with the victims. In order to graduate, the men involved were required to complete classes on communication and professionalism.
The university’s academic committee said Friday the students will be allowed to graduate as long as they complete their clinical requirements.
A report about the restorative justice process released Friday says the Facebook group began as a bonding activity, but the members “sought to ‘one up’ each other in ways that were frequently crude in nature and aimed at shock value.”
The report found the dental faculty has “inconsistent standards for professionalism, rumours of favouritism and inappropriate relationships, and sexist, misogynistic, racist and/or homophobic behaviours were at times perceived to be inadequately dealt with.”
An external investigation into the school’s handling of the scandal will be released next month.
For more, please visit: http://www.torontosun.com/2015/05/22/dental-students-in-dalhousie-facebook-scandal-allowed-to-graduate.
