U of T marks National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women with tri-campus event
Students read the names of the 14 women killed during the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre during a Dec. 6 event held at Hart House (photo by Johnny Guatto)
Published: December 6, 2024
Members of the University of Toronto community came together to commemorate the 14 women who lost their lives in the violent attack at École Polytechnique 35 years ago – and to honour all those impacted by gender-based violence.
Students, faculty, staff, librarians and alumni from across U of T’s three campuses marked the Dec. 6 National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women with an event held at Hart House on Friday, while others attended virtually by livestream.
A group of students in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering also unveiled an interactive sculpture on the front steps of the Galbraith building on the St. George campus. The design featured 14 candles surrounding a central flame with each candle representing a victim of the 1989 tragedy.
“Each candle has a button; when you press the button, it makes the central flame brighter,” Rebecca Ing, a fourth-year student in materials science and engineering and a member of the design team, told U of T Engineering News.
“This represents our individual role in taking action against gender-based violence”
The student group also organized a memorial ceremony on Friday that took place in front of Galbraith.
Inside Hart House’s Great Hall, students walked across a stage to read aloud the names and ages of the 14 women killed in the attack (which also left another 10 women and four men were injured): Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault and Annie Turcotte.
The reading of the names was followed by a moment of silence.
The event also featured roundtable discussions, a musical performance by artist Jenny Blackbird, a resource centre and programs co-ordinator at First Nations House Indigenous Student Services and performances by the Skule String Quartet Orchestra.
During the ceremony, two U of T students were recognized for their dedication to addressing violence against women, girls, transgender and non-binary individuals with U of T’s Award for Scholarly Achievement in the Area of Gender-Based Violence.
The undergraduate recipient of the annual award was Yunchi "Hex" Li, who is pursuing a double major in sociology and women and gender studies with a minor in sexual diversity studies in the Faculty of Arts & Science. Li’s academic pursuits focus on dismantling patriarchal and heterosexist systems.
Roberta Silveira Pamplona, a PhD candidate in the department of sociology with a collaborative degree in women and gender studies, was the graduate recipient. Pamplona is analyzing the criminalization of feminicides in Brazil in her PhD dissertation.
“As Hex and Roberta’s work illustrates, there is such an impressively broad range of work happening at U of T, and we also saw this diversity of topics in our award applications overall,” said Sandy Welsh, U of T’s vice-provost, students, who presented the award to this year’s winners.
“Often this work happens quietly and behind the scenes – we know this is difficult work, and the conversations surrounding the work can be challenging to share – but seeing our students here today and recognizing the impact they are having on research and action, is important to acknowledge and celebrate.”
Marisa Sterling, assistant dean and director, diversity, inclusion and professionalism in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, reflected on how the tragedy spurred a personal exploration of feminism.
“What would change after Dec. 6 is the open acknowledgement that engineering has been an unsafe profession for women for years,” she said, highlighting the importance of efforts such as the inclusion of harassment in the definition of professional misconduct under the Professional Engineers Act, the establishment of programs like Go Code Girl, and the 30 by 30 campaign to increase the representation of women in the field.
She then called for continued remembrance and action to combat gender-based violence and discrimination.
After the award presentation and remarks, attendees were invited for a campus walk to visit the fire at Ziibiing Indigenous garden and to lay a white rose in commemoration of the lives lost.
This year’s hybrid event was co-hosted by the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, Hart House and the Sexual Violence Prevention & Support Centre.
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