Canadian students suspended over rape jokes
A hateful Facebook group caused a massive uproar in Canada. Thirteen dentistry students have been suspended from clinical work today, after posting rape jokes next to photos of their fellow female students. Canadian media report that the students might not be allowed to come back to campus.
The 13 boys who were united in the Facebook group ‘Class of DDS 2015 Gentlemen’, are all about to graduate. However, as long as the suspension is in place, they cannot finish their studies. In the Facebook group, they posted rape jokes like “Can you tell me what this chloroform smells like?” and posted polls on who they wanted to have “hate sex” with. The page has been taken down.
Last weekend, four professors went public with their complaint on the matter, when the university hesitated to make a decision on an interim suspension. The girls that were mentioned in the Facebook posts had already filed a complaint at the university. Hacker collective Anonymous responded to the matter in a video, and threatened to make the 13 names public if the university would not handle the situation better.
Under the hashtag #DalhousieHatesWomen, a storm of protest from people all over the world has followed the news about the Facebook group. Over the past few weeks, groups of protesters have gathered in front of the university building to demand action as well.
