Memorial service remembers victims of Montreal Massacre

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/dec6 poster edited.jpg” caption=”A memorial service for the victims of the Montreal Massacre will be held in front of the John Hodgins Engineering building today from 12:30 to 1 p.m. Image courtesy of the Anti-Violence Network.”]The flags in front of the Burke Science Building are flying at half-mast today to commemorate the 14 female engineering students who were shot and killed by a gunman at l'Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal on Dec. 6, 1989.

McMaster's Anti-Violence Network (AVN) will hold a memorial service in front of the John Hodgins Engineering Building today from 12:30 to 1 p.m.

Vilma Rossi, program co-ordinator at the AVN, explained the importance of remembering the young women who lost their lives 17 years ago today.

“It changed the national consciousness of violence against women,” said Rossi. “Those who lived through it — students, staff, men and women who work at a university — remember where they were when it happened.”

Rossi added that it's important for students to remember the victims who were their age when they were killed as well as remember all victims of violence.

Hanna Schayer of the AVN said the memorial service will give students the opportunity to reflect on what Dec. 6 means to them.

“The abuse hasn't stopped,” said Schayer. “Women and children are put in situations where their lives are untenable. It's not just the women who died in Montreal, but the women we don't know.”

The Bathtub Project will accept donations of toiletries for women and children living at local shelters.

In the event of inclement weather, the memorial service will be held in the MUSC Marketplace.

The Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Care Centre in the McMaster University Medical Centre, Room 4B24 provides health care and counseling services to anyone who has experienced sexual assault or domestic violence. For more information about the centre, please click here or call 905-521-2100, ext.73557.

Established in 1997, the AVN is a group of McMaster students, staff and faculty who co-ordinate anti-violence initiatives on campus.