Ashley H Curnew

Each year, Memorial University's Sexual Harassment Office holds a vigil on the St. John’s campus to commemorate the 14 women who were killed because of their gender at l'École Polytechnique in Montreal, Que. on Dec. 6, 1989.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of this tragedy, which coincides with the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women established in 1991 by the Parliament of Canada.

This year the vigil will be held on Friday, Dec. 6 at 6 p.m. in the S.J. Carew (Engineering) Building’s main lecture theatre (EN2006) with a reception to follow. This annual event includes a candlelight procession of 14 students who will each represent the lives of the women who were lost. The Pachelbel Trio will perform and dedications will be offered by university groups and community organizations. Following the vigil a purple tree lighting will be held by the St. John’s Status of Women Council in the lobby of the Engineering Building to honour the murdered and missing women and girls of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Sexual Harassment Office and the Department of Gender Studies invite members of the Memorial University community as well as the community at large to join us again this year as we honour these women and reflect upon concrete actions that each of us can take as a shared responsibility to prevent and eliminate gender based violence.

Parking for this event will be available in Lot 60.