The task force set up by Dalhousie University to investigate their dentistry school reported the school allowed a culture of “sexism, misogyny, homophobia and racism” to exist.
The independent report concluded by saying Dalhousie’s administration and faculty should “collectively agree on the necessity for fundamental change.”
The report was released by the university June 26, and authored by the three-person task force set up following the suspension of 13 male dentistry students involved with the “DDS Class of 2015 Gentlemen” Facebook group. The group allegedly contained messages from some of the 13 students condoning sexual assault and misogynistic behaviour.
The task force consisted of three law professors, and was headed by University of Ottawa law professor Constance Backhouse.
While the report looked specifically at Dalhousie, it warned these incidents aren’t exclusive to the school.
“Universities, and everyone associated with them, live within a wider culture that increasingly glorifies sexual violence and exploitation,” the report said.
The dentistry scandal is the continuation of trends at other Canadian university campuses in recent years, the report said.
The report also recognized the lack of an ombudsperson office on the Dalhousie campus, stating that an ombudsperson is a good mechanism for identifying “systematic issues,” and Dalhousie would be better served to adopt one.
The report also concluded that on sites like Facebook, which are becoming more essential to student social life, social pressures such as masculinity transfer onto the Internet.
“We heard that in some male social groups, particularly in social media, the members are under pressure to fit in by showing that they are sexist, misogynistic, and homophobic,” the report said.
The report also suggests schools need new techniques for educating students about the potential dangers of social media, relating to misogyny.
Also, the report said criticisms of Dalhousie’s speed in handling the discipline of the group were unfounded, and the school was “unfairly targeted” in some instances.
