Members of University communities across Canada will come together in early December to remember the 14 women who were tragically killed on December 6, 1989, at École Polytechnique in Montreal.
This year, UVic's memorial ceremony carries an extra message of hope as institutional departments and services band together to enhance safety for all on campus.
Classes are cancelled from 11:30am to 12:30pm on the last day of the fall term for this annual event organized by the Equity and Human Rights (EHR) office in recognition of the federal government proclaiming December 6th as a National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
“We want both to honour the memory of the women who lost their lives as well as to look to the future," says Amber Dujay, the EHR student coordinator who is responsible for organizing the memorial this year. "Although it is a day of mourning, it is also a day of hope; a time when all of these people can gather together and remember.”
In the spirit of hope and community, the EHR office is collaborating with many departments and associations for the memorial including the Anti-Violence Project (AVP), UVic Women’s Centre, Interfaith Chaplains, UVic Pride, Engineering Students Society, Campus Security (CSEC), UVic Communications, the UVic administration and American Sign Language Interpreters.
“We want to address the fact that violence against women is nowhere near solved and that it still occurs frequently in Canada and the rest of the world,” says Dujay.
Fortunately, this issue is very much recognized and pro-actively addressed by many administrative departments, student advocacy groups and services across campus.
AVP Coordinator Robin Tosczak recruited more than 20 student volunteers this year to commit to 40 hours of training around support skills and issues of sexualized and gendered violence. These AVP volunteers belong to a variety of student committees dedicated to increasing awareness on gendered violence.
Students view this violence as an issue that affects every person on campus. Sinan Soykut, outreach team leader at the AVP, says the issue isn't just about violence against women. "It is an issue that goes across all genders," says Soykut.
Soykut notes that the AVP was recently invited to provide education around safe drinking and signs of sexualized violence for proactive student pub crawl organizers interested in protecting each other and the students on the pub crawl.
In partnership with Campus Security, the AVP is also involved in Residence Advisor (RA) training that entails acquiring some tools to help educate, listen to, support and refer new students to a variety of professionals across campus.
Tosczak said that many enthusiastic RAs eventually become AVP volunteers, a bonus from the AVP's involvement in the training process. In this role, these students act as an even stronger link between the various communities and services on campus.
“UVic residences aren't any less safe than anyone else’s home anywhere else," said Tosczak. "Students that are living in residence have a lot of really great resources because they have the support of the RAs.”
Campus Security also provides year-round education and services focused on increasing student safety on campus.
Since 1995, Campus Security has employed a Personal Safety Coordinator (PSC) to address security concerns and develop personal safety programs. The PSC is also a liaison with students, staff and faculty regarding the resolution of individual complaints and general personal safety issues.
Current coordinator Fiona Puszka highlights the importance of UVic's campus Safe Walk program. "It is a program where Campus Security employees will walk with you anywhere within the campus boundaries, any time day or night. It’s free of charge and I’d love to see it used more by people working out late at the gym and coming back to the bus loop or their residence building.”
The importance of the December 6th memorial for UVic lies in coming together as a campus community and recognizing that gendered violence is still an issue affecting everyone. It is a problem that needs to continue to be pro-actively addressed by engaged student leaders and advocacy groups in concert with campus services and administrators.
As in previous years, the memorial will be held on the last day of classes in the fall term. That days falls on Tuesday, Dec. 4th this year and the ceremony will be held from 11:30-12:30 in front of the MacLaurin Building.
Originally published in Volume 1, Issue 1 of the Fountain, November 2008