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In the aftermath of 13 male students in the Dalhousie University dentistry program making misogynistic Facebook comments, the university has issued a questionnaire to the female students targeted, asking them to for possible remedies and solutions.Tibor Kolley/The Globe and Mail

Dalhousie University has distributed a questionnaire to the fourth-year women dentistry students targeted in the misogynist Facebook comments made by 13 male colleagues, asking them to explain the impact of the remarks and suggest "remedies" to address the incident.

The questionnaire, obtained by The Globe and Mail, will be part of a process of restorative justice that will begin on the first day students return to classes Jan. 5.

"How have you been impacted or harmed by the group?" is one of the questions students are asked to answer "not later than January 2nd at noon," according to an e-mail sent to the students by Melissa MacKay, the university's acting adviser for Harassment Prevention/Conflict Resolution.

"Please provide as many harms as you can identify, these may include harms to yourself or others around you," she writes. In addition, the students are to answer who they "feel needs to be involved in the process in the long term." Ms. MacKay notes this could include faculty members, stakeholders and student union .

"Do you have a sense of the remedies needed for the harms you've expressed," is the third question asked.

There are 38 students – 19 men and 19 women – who form the core of the fourth-year class.

The e-mail was sent Friday night – a few hours after about 200 people marched to university president Richard Florizone's office, protesting against the process.

Many people believe that the students should be expelled for their comments.

The story exploded last Monday after screen grabs of the Facebook posts were leaked to the media, including a poll asking members of the group which of their female colleagues they would like to have "hate" sex with.

"The last several days have been difficult for Dalhousie University, particularly those of you in your fourth year of Dentistry who were directly impacted by Facebook posts, including several that were degrading and misogynistic, made by your fellow students," writes Ms. MacKay in her three-page e-mail.

She says the university has "been exploring options" and has decided on the restorative justice process. But, she adds: "This does not mean that those who have caused harm and who may choose not to participate will not be accountable for their behaviour…"

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