Dalhousie dentistry students in scandal may not graduate in spring
Dalhousie University president Richard Florizone says some of the men involved in the dentistry school's Facebook scandal will not be able to graduate this spring because of the clinic time they have missed while under suspension.
However, Florizone said the 12 men involved in the restorative justice process will be able to return to clinic duties under certain conditions.
The president wrote a post on Dalhousie's website that 29 members of the dentistry school's class of 2015 are taking part in the restorative justice process.
He says that includes 14 women, 12 members of the Class of DDS 2015 Gentlemen Facebook group and three other men in the class.
During the restorative justice process, he says, the Facebook group members have expressed remorse, taken ownership of what they have done and recognized that they have harmed a broad range of people.
Florizone says each of the men has attended workshops on misogyny and rape culture and collectively dedicated more than 1,000 hours to the process.
He says the academic standards class committee is assessing if the 13 men involved in the Facebook scandal will be able to meet the professional standards of their program.
Their participation within the Facebook group and their contributions to the restorative justice process will be taken into consideration.
Florizone says that because of missed clinic time, some of the men will not graduate this spring.
Suspended students can return to clinic duties
The standards committee has determined that the men suspended from clinic duties can return, but a number of conditions have been set. They will undergo close supervision, must continue participation in the restorative justice process, attend refresher training and participate in a series of classes on communication and professionalism.
Florizone says a student may be removed from clinic if any of the conditions are violated.
The standards committee continues to look at the case of the 13th student who has chosen not to participate in the restorative justice process.
Ryan Millet finished his appearance before a disciplinary hearing in January. The results of that hearing have not been released.
The update from the president comes just after the 29 members of the fourth-year dentistry class taking part in a restorative justice process posted an 1,800-word statement to the university’s website regarding the scandal.
In it, the students say they've all been hurt by the public attention drawn to the scandal.
