By Dessa Bayrock (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: January 9, 2013
As part of the new building at UFV’s Canada Education Park campus, the aboriginal gathering place has already hosted a wide variety of events – from conferences to ceremonies, traditional welcomes to potluck dinners. The recycled cedar lends a warm atmosphere to the space, and the oversized steps form gentle tiers for audience members to sit or stand.
This past December, UFV students, faculty, staff and community members gathered on those steps to pay their respects as part of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. Members of both genders and several generations collected together to honour the memories of the women targeted in the 1989 massacre at École Polytechnique in Montréal, as well as those murdered on the Highway of Tears and on Vancouver’s downtown east side.
Several faculty members spoke at the memorial, including Dr. Virginia Cooke of the English department and Dr. Martha Dow of sociology. The night ended with candle-lighting and a moment of silence.
