This student-built memorial on the front steps of U of T Engineering’s Galbraith Building commemorates the 35thanniversary of the École Polytechnique massacre, in which 14 women engineering students were murdered. It serves as a call to end gender-based violence. (photo by Tyler Irving)
An interactive sculpture designed and built by U of T Engineering students now stands on the front steps of the Galbraith building.
It features 14 candles surrounding a central flame, with each candle representing the life of a woman who was murdered during the École Polytechnique massacre, which took place on December 6, 1989.
“Each candle has a button; when you press the button, it makes the central flame brighter,” says Rebecca Ing (Year 4 MSE), one of the members of the team.
“This represents our individual role in taking action against gender-based violence”
In addition to the build, the students have organized a memorial ceremony, set to take place on the front steps of the Galbraith building at 5 p.m. on December 6, 2024.
Kaija Mikes (Year 3 EngSci), another member of the team who has been helping with the build and ceremony annually for the past three years, recalls how she first got involved with this project
“I was just walking through the Sandford Fleming building one day, and I saw a bunch of people working with drills and saws working on something,” she says.
“As soon as I learned about the December 6th memorial, I knew I had to put as much time into it as I could. This is something organized by a community that I feel I belong to, and it’s worth taking the time to be part of it.”
That feeling is shared by Isobel Arseneau (Year 3 EngSci), another long-time participant.
“It’s easy to get lost during final exam season, and also, as a woman, to feel othered in this program,” she says.
“I felt like that in my first year, in part because I didn’t have a community like this: a group of people, mostly women, who are coming together to bring about change. I think that’s what drew me to it.”
Thirty-five years ago today, a gunman entered a classroom on the campus of École Polytechnique de Montréal in Montréal, Que. Separating the men from the women, he shot all nine women in the room, killing six. He then continued through other parts of the building, in total killing 14 women and wounding 10 more women and four men, before fatally shooting himself.
“It’s scary as a woman in engineering to know that it happened, and that it could have happened to me. Even though it was a long time ago, it’s still an issue today, and I think it’s something we need to address,” says Ing.
“The part that always scared me the most was that the men stood up and left the room,” says Arseneau.
“The ceremony, and especially this interactive build, are meant to be a reminder, but also a practice.”
“We’re promising each other that we’re not going to stand up and leave, we’re going to have each other’s backs, and we’re not going to let something like this happen again.”
Alumna Gina Mollicone-Long (ChemE 9T3) is the co-founder of The Greatness Group. She was in her first year of engineering studies at U of T on December 6, 1989.
“We were stunned and shocked,” she says.
“I remember that we had a lot of security during our final winter exams. We had to show ID and then they locked the doors. It was surreal. Women were advised to avoid broadcasting that we were in engineering, so I sold my leather jacket to a male friend of mine.
“Up until that point, I didn’t really think that there was a major bias against women in engineering. It was a wake-up call, for sure. Afterward, I led the formation of the Chemical Engineering Women’s Issues Committee. Our mandate was to increase women in chemical engineering and remove the systemic barriers to entry.”
More than three decades later, Mollicone-Long has seen her own daughter graduate from U of T Engineering. She says that things have both changed and not changed.
“Obviously, the outward displays have disappeared. The offensive songs have been rewritten or forgotten. And there has been noticeable growth in the number of women in engineering: at times chemical engineering has been over 50% women, and the proportion in the overall faculty is much higher than when I started.
“That being said, women continue to be underrepresented at the top levels and leadership roles of most industries, including engineering. We still have work to do to ensure that women have the same access to the highest achievements. We can commemorate December 6 as both a reminder of how far we’ve come, and of our responsibility to continue to ensure that engineering is accessible to women.”
For Arseneau, December 6 means both reflection and action.
“I know the women around me still feel a sense of grief around this day, and I hope this build creates a space where it’s okay to feel that,” she says.
“But I also hope it draws people in, encourages them to learn more and get involved. We can’t change the events of what happened at École Polytechnique, but we can change how we act and move forward.”
– This story was originally published on the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering News Site on December 6, 2024, by Tyler Irving.
