Dalhousie Student Union to debate motion on dentistry Facebook scandal

HALIFAX – Dalhousie University’s student union will debate a motion on Wednesday that says the university hasn’t “adequately” addressed complaints about sexist and misogynistic Facebook comments allegedly posted by fourth-year dentistry students.

The proposed motion, put forward by student union president Ramz Aziz, calls on the university to implement six changes in school policy immediately.

Some of the requests include:

• establishing an “acceptable process for anonymous reporting of discrimination and harassment”
• the creation of a student advocate who can help students navigate the university’s services
• a requirement for faculty and staff to attend mandatory training on sexism and misogyny
• the creation of a mandatory equity course for all students.

The motion will be debated at the student union’s first council meeting since the university became embroiled in controversy when the nature of the comments became public in December.

READ MORE: Dalhousie refuses to release names of suspended students to dental boards

Dalhousie has come under fire for its handling of the situation. The university has established an independent task force to look at the environment at the dentistry school, launched a restorative justice process that will include the 13 male dentistry students and some of the women targeted by the Facebook comments, and given Halifax Regional Police information regarding the Facebook comments.

The students alleged to have made the comments have been suspended from participating in clinical activities and are taking classes separately from their peers.

Global News asked the university to comment on the student union’s motion, but had not received a response at the time of publication.