Campus vigil marks 26th annniversary of Montreal Massacre

The University of Waterloo will host a vigil to mark the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. Established in 1991 by the Parliament of Canada, December 6 marks the anniversary of the murders in 1989 of 14 young women at the engineering school, l'École Polytechnique de Montréal. The women, many of them young engineering students, were killed by a man who claimed feminism was ruining his life.

The campus event will be held on Friday, December 4 at 10:30 am at the Sedra Student Design Centre in Engineering 5.

Speakers at the vigil include:

• Mary Wells, Waterloo Engineering’s associate dean of outreach
• Diana Parry, professor in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, and special advisor to the president on women's and gender issues.
• Catherine Fife, MPP for Kitchener-Waterloo
• Daiene Vernile, MPP for Kitchener Centre

Earlier in the week, Carolyn Hansson, professor of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering, spoke at a screening of the film Polytechnique at the Princess Cinema in uptown Waterloo.

In her remarks Hansson noted that the overwhelming majority of violent crimes against women are perpretated by relatives or close friends.

I want to implore you not to let the events of December 6^th 1989 make you afraid . . . You shouldn’t be unduly worried on campus or walking around town – or taking up a career in engineering," said Hansson. "I am happy to report that, in the intervening 26 years, the female population of our engineering student population in Canada has steadily increased and is at record levels this year.  

The December 6 National Day of Remembrance also gives Canadians an opportunity to reflect on violence against women in our society as a whole and to consider ways to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.

The University of Waterloo, under Wells’ leadership, is working to bring  more women into the engineering profession through the Faculty’s community outreach programs. The Faculty of Engineering runs an annual event called Go ENG Girl for students in Grade 7 – 10. Another special event is a conference for Grade 11 girls, which puts students in touch with young women who are working in engineering.

In May 2015, Feridun Hamdullahpur, University of Waterloo president and vice-chancellor, accepted an invitation from the UN Women’s HeForShe campaign for the University of Waterloo to participate in their Impact 10x10x10 framework alongside governments, leading universities, and global businesses. As part of this framework, the University has committed to boosting female student participation in STEM experiences and academic careers to build the pipeline of future female leaders in traditionally male dominated disciplines.