Silence on Smith

Parent says kids were told to shut up about class visit by former pathologist

Avisit from a man, upon whom the media have bestowed the title “disgraced pathologist,” to a Grade 11 law class at the end of October, seems to have caused pandemonium at PECI this week.

On Tuesday, November 1, the Toronto Sun broke the story that Dr. Charles Smith, a former forensic child pathologist, now stripped of his profession by the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons for mishandling cases and causing the false convictions of up to 14 people, had given a lecture to 15- and 16 year-old law students at Prince Edward Collegiate Institute on DNA.

The story itself seemed outrageous enough. Between the anger and disbelief, online readers of the article joked it was “sort of like inviting Madoff to lecture on financial fiduciary responsibility.”

What seemed more outrageous is that the Sun heard about it first. No one in the County seemed to know. Not the media, not the parents, not the students. Not even the school’s officials, who heard it first from the Sun’s reporter.

Today, the story has been published in papers as far as the Northwest Territories and British Colombia. PECI is getting national attention for allowing Smith to speak to its students. That sent the Hastings- Prince Edward District School Board scrambling, looking at their policies and rewriting procedures for bringing in guest speakers.

It’s always been an informal thing, if a student had an interesting person in mind to speak to a class, that student could collaborate with a teacher to make it happen.

That’s just what’s been reported in this case. A female student had a connection to Smith, talked to her teacher and the two made it happen. Careful, of course, not to draw too much attention, considering the negative media attention Smith has rightfully received in the past.

But a curious thing is happening. Officially, the school is sending all inquiries by the media to HPEDSB Communications Officer Kerry Donnell, as it should. But unofficially, reported one parent, the students have allegedly been threatened with suspension if they speak up.

This report was denied, both by Donnell and PECI’s Principal, Shelley MacKenzie-Coates.

“Communications for this have been handled centrally from the office here,” said Donnell. “That was just a decision, in order to keep everything centralized. The school board has procedures in place for spokespeople. Typically, it’s not students.”

Not that students haven’t spoken up. Two students were interviewed by Kingston-based CKWS TV last Wednesday. Jocelyn Wilson spoke to Loyalist College’s student news site, QNet News.

And at least one comment on an online article was purported to be written by a student, who typed, “as a student that was present in the classroom, it was a very bizarre experience. I knew that he was a disgraced pathologist and when he was introduced as Dr. Charles Smith I was dumbfounded.”