Restorative justice wraps up for dentistry students

HALIFAX — A report into sexist online posts by dentistry students at Dalhousie University has found a Facebook page at the centre of the scandal began as a bonding exercise, but turned offensive.

The report released Friday says the restorative justice process revealed a culture of unprofessionalism and competitiveness.

“Members sought to ‘one up’ each other in ways that were frequently crude in nature and aimed at shock value,” says the 70-page report.

“The men’s Facebook group began as a bonding activity but became a place to vent frustrations, often in unhealthy and at times extremely offensive ways.”

The report was done after four female dentistry students complained last December that a Facebook page created by male students in the faculty contained misogynistic and sexually charged content about some of them.

The university launched a restorative justice process to resolve complaints about the comments. The school said the women in the class chose the process, which was informal and confidential involving both men and women from the class.

Despite the report’s findings, the university says the academic standards class committee determined the men are eligible to graduate as long as they satisfy their clinical requirements.

The five-month restorative justice process also found there were perceptions among participating students that racist, misogynistic and homophobic behaviours were not adequately handled, amid rumours of favouritism and unprofessionalism. It says means to deal with these complaints were frustrating to pursue.

University president Richard Florizone said the men and women spent 1,500 hours together in the process and he declared it a success.

“The men have taken ownership of their actions, gained a deep understanding of the harm that was caused,” he told a news conference. “They’ve apologized to those most deeply impacted.”