THE INFORMER PAGE 2 NOVEMBER 21, 1990 - Remembering the Montreal Massacre: A Commemoration at Cap College - Submitted by the Steering Committee for the Women’s Centre “Tf a university and its students lose their contact with moral law, they will have no reliable standard by which to judge and act themselves.” — Tom Kierans in an article titled “Where Were the Guardians.” What are We Commemorating? q One year ago, on Dec. 6, 14 women were killed at the Ecole Polytechnic in Montreal: Sonia Pelletier, Héléne Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Michéle Richard, Maryse Laganiére, Maryse Leclair, Anne- Marie Lemay, Geneviéve Bergeron, Barbara Maria Klueznick, Annie Turcotie, Annie St.-Ameault, Maud Haviernick. Why are We Commemorating this Event? A massacre of this magnitude has never occurred before in Canada. The man responsible announced, “I am doing this to fight against feminism.” Later, in his suicide note, he explained that he had murdered the women “for political reasons.” A deranged man, we all agree. But why should it ever have occurred to him to take such an insane action? First, it might have been suggested to him by attitudes endemic in our society. We all know some of the statistics. Forty percent of women murdered are murdered by husbands or lovers. One in 10 women is beaten by her male companion. One in four is or will be assaulted by a man. So perhaps this tragedy is unusual only in its magnitude. Second, the killer might have been encouraged by a climate in our society that supports violence against women. Human qualities that we all share have little status because they are associated with women: compassion, nurturance, sensitivity, intuition. We pay lip service to them, but they are consistently trivialized and devalued by our society. Popular myths say that - women like to be dominated and looked after, that they enjoy being passive and expect men to be aggressive. These myths are outdated, but they persist. Third, he might have felt that he had our tacit approval. In our society, we often respond with silence to incidents of violence against women. We sometimes ignore violent actions or accommodate ourselves to them. Why Should the College Commemorate this Event? When we ignore and accommodate, we give young men and women a mistaken perception of the world, a perception that can lead to incidents like the stunning public tragedy of last year, or to the equally stunning private tragedy of one young woman turning away from her opportunity, whatever that may be. As Kierans pointed out in a recent article in The Globe and Mail, “Women have a fundamental right to pursue their interests with dignity and without harassment.” We all agree with this in principle, but sometimes practice falls short. It fell into tragedy unparalleled in Canada last Dec. 6. More and more Canadians want to see changes in the attitudes and behaviors that encourage or support violent responses such as this. Universities and colleges should provide leadership in helping to bring about these changes by educating and sensitizing people about issues affecting women’s abilities to take full advantage of opportunities. This college can provide leadership by offering education; that is, by providing information and by facilitating discussion on issues that arise out of that information. Colleges can also be leaders by providing models. How Will We Commemorate This Event? This year we will remember the 14 women by placing a wreath in the quadrangle in the North Campus on Nov. 23 and by adding a rose each day for the following 14 days. On Dec. 6, we will observe 14 minutes of silence starting at 2:30 p.m. What Can You Do? First, you can inform yourself about issues affecting women. Then, you can inform others. Finally, you can work for changes in attitudes, practices and behaviors that cost all of us too much. During the course of a year, we sponsor and participate in many, many events at Capilano College. Many of these events are indeed important to us in both our corporate and private lives. The thoughtful, reflective commemoration of the massacre of 14 women is among the most important events we will have at our college this year. — Douglas K. Jardine November 19 - 25, 1990 COLLEGE AND INSTITUTE WEEK Reason To Celebrate !