Steven Baur, Dalhousie senate committee member, speaks out about dentistry school scandal
Baur says it's not possible for Ryan Millet to have his case heard in front of the senate
A Dalhousie University professor on the school’s senate committee says when it comes to discipline, each punishment should be handed out individually in the dentistry school scandal.
The scandal erupted last month when CBC News revealed screenshots from the group where some students talked about using chloroform to drug women.
Steven Baur spoke with CBC News after posting a 400 word commentary on Facebook about the case and Ryan Millet’s disciplinary hearing.
Millet is the whistleblower in the 2015 DDS Gentlemen’s Facebook group.
Millet never commented on the posts, but he clicked "like" on one photo that showed a woman sitting on steps below a sign that reads "public entrance."
The disciplinary hearing for Millet's involvement in the scandal started this week. It is being done in private and being handled within the dentistry faculty.
'We can't stop something we've had nothing to do with'
Millet wants his case to be heard by the senate – a public forum – but Baur says that’s not possible.
"We can't stop something we've had nothing to do with. This issue has not come before [the] senate, [the] senate was not consulted on the restorative justice process. It was not consulted about the decision to have the committee within the school of dentistry handle this,” said Baur.
Baur says he doesn't know all facts on who did what, but says when it comes to disclipline, each punishment should be handed out individually.
"I doubt that there are equal levels of guilt among the 13. This is certainly what Ryan Millet has been saying, so I don't know what the punishment should be," said Baur.
A private meeting of all the senators was held this week. Baur says he can't share what happened. However, he does say Dalhousie could regain the trust of the public by being more transparent.