8 over THE EDGE - Wednesday, December 14 , 1994

atts Montreal Remembered? T?

by Dale Bowyer

On Decheatict 6

Th., students gathered in |

the Winter Garden to
pay their respects to the
female Victims of the
1989 — Montreal
Massacre. The
memorial service
consisted of speeches,
poetry readings and
music. It had a sobering
effect on the crowd, and
reinforced that violence
of any kind, especially
to’ women, is wrong.
The tragedy of that night
can not be deemed an
isolated incident. It is a
magnification of what is
happening to women all
the time. The question
of — whether Marc
Lepine’s actions are
reflective of the rest of
the men in our society
remains § unanswered.
Violence is not
justifiable in any
circumstance. We can
not excuse Marc
Lepine’s action by
saying he was mad. His
message left too lucid

‘ and clear a message for

that of a mad man.

Prior to the
memorial service, there
was a video presentation
entitled After . the
Montreal Massacre.

' The video showed the

effect of the massacre,
and why it is important
for us to remember. The
tragedy brought to the
surface all the little acts
of violence to which no
woman is immune. This
is especially the case
with university women.
Every woman on a
college or university
campus can identify
with Marc  Lepine’s
victims. It is obvious
that society is more
brutal, that the risk of
violence is greater, and
that women have more
reasons to be afraid.

So where does
this leave us? What
does come after the
Montreal massacre?
The statistics are not
pleasant. One in every
four women will be
assaulted in their life
time (half of those

before: age 17). One
million women in-
Canada will be abused
by their husband or
intimate partner this
year. Violence toward
women is the leading
cause of death to women
world wide. Something
has to be done to change
this . and quick.
Unfortunately it takes
morte than women
wanting change. Men
have to want it just as
much. Men and women
must work together in
order to change society’s
attitudes towards
women. Small «things
like wearing a white
ribbon to support the
fight against misogyny
are a step in the right
direction. It is to be
hoped that the tragedy of
December 6, 1989, will
serve as a reminder of
why we can never give
up this fight. SZ