Members of the SMU Community gathered on December 6, the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
The solemn, respectful, and touching event was led by Deborah Brothers-Scott, Diversity and Inclusion Advisor. Raymond Sewell, Assistant Professor, opened the event with an Indigenous song. President Rob Summerby-Murray and Dr. Rohini Bannerjee, AVP Diversity Excellence, both read poems (Fourteen White Roses and She had thought) expressing the sense of loss that Canadians feel as we remember not only the women who were murdered in 1989, but also the violence and inequities that continue today.
Dr. Lori Francis, Dean of Science, reflected on her own experiences, facing and overcoming opposition to her career as a “woman in Science.” At Saint Mary’s University, each year, a scholarship is awarded to a young woman studying Engineering at SMU. This year’s recipient is Amy Kehoe.
Dee Dooley, the new Sexual Violence Advisor, talked about what we can do to prevent violence against women and how her own grandmother serves as an inspiration and model.
Students, SMUSA representatives, varsity athletes and a member of the SMU Conflict Resolution Society carefully placed 14 roses in a large vase to commemorate the 14 women who were killed at the l’École Polytechnique in Montreal on December 6, 1989. They are:
Geneviève Bergeron
Hélène Colgan
Nathalie Croteau
Barbara Daigneault
Anne-Marie Edward
Maud Haviernick
Maryse Laganière
Maryse Leclair
Anne-Marie Lemay
Sonia Pelletier
Michèle Richard
Annie St-Arneault
Annie Turcotte
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz