Saint Mary’s University honors the victims of the Montreal Massacre on the 32nd anniversary – Halifax | The Canadian News

In a horrific act of gender-based violence 32 years ago, 14 victims, all engineering students, were shot to death by an attacker who broke into their classroom. He then ordered the men to leave and proceeded to open fire on the students.

Every year since the deadly attack, Saint Mary’s University has a memorial event to honor women. The students took turns reading the names of all the victims and then individually placed 14 white roses in a vase.

Saint Mary’s University Dean of Science, Dr. Lori Francis, says women were shot and killed for “simply being engineers” and that women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) still face microaggressions and gender stereotypes. today.

“Their careers were cut short in a very tragic way, but their impact on women in the fields of science remains in us remembering, creating action and in us really questioning the stereotypes and barriers that prevent women from feeling welcome in scientific fields ”. she said.

A scholarship was also presented to an engineering student. Third-year student Amy Kehoe wasn’t even alive when the massacre happened, but she has done a lot of research on the tragic day and believes that the scholarship is an action that shows a commitment to helping women in STEM fields.

“It is something that we still lack. We are trying, but we are not there yet. I think you can ask any woman in STEM and they will tell you at least some story about where they didn’t feel like they belonged. But things like this scholarship and days like this where we recognize that it is a good step to include women in STEM fields, ”she said.

Francis is committed to action towards violence against women and is aware of micro-aggressions against women in science.

“Did you know that studies have been done that when children are asked to draw a picture of a scientist, whether that child is a boy or a girl, many times they will draw a picture of a male scientist?” Francis said.

“That work is in progress. It is a continuous reflection and a continuous effort is needed to create spaces where women are included and feel safe in science. And we have been successful in these areas and we have work to do. “

1:26Moment of silence in the House of Commons on the 32nd anniversary of the Ecole Polytechnique massacre