Each year, Memorial University commemorates the 14 women who were killed because of their gender at l’École Polytechnique in Montréal, Que., on Dec. 6, 1989.

The anniversary of this tragedy coincides with the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women established in 1991 by the Parliament of Canada.

President Janet Morrison and Amnesty Rose, Memorial’s sexual harassment advisor, spoke with the Gazette about the importance of commemorating the tragedy at Memorial University and in our communities.

Silent vigil

At Memorial, there will be a silent vigil hosted by the university’s Sexual Harassment Office.

A silent vigil will take place in the main lobby of the Engineering building on the St. John’s campus from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 1, Wednesday, Dec. 3, and Friday, Dec. 5.

A silent vigil will be held in the lobby of the Marine Institute campus on Ridge Road on Tuesday, Dec. 2, and Thursday, Dec. 4. Silent vigil tables will be staffed by Sexual Harassment Office staff.

Members of the Memorial University community, as well as the community at large, are encouraged to visit one of the tables and complete a concrete action card by sharing information on one thing they can do to help address gender-based violence in our communities.

Individuals located at other Memorial campuses are encouraged to email their concrete actions to the Sexual Harassment Office and a member of the office will complete cards on their behalf.

Contact

For more information, please contact Amnesty Rose, sexual harassment advisor, Memorial University via email or call (709) 864-8199.