Montreal `89

On Thurs. Dec.6 at 12:15pm in front of F.H.G. Library, students, staff and faculty from the Women’s Center and other offices and organizations will gather for the annual memorial in remembrance of the fourteen women engineering students slain because they chose to pursue a traditionally male dominated profession.  The account below is excerpted from the Dec.7, 1989 New York Times

 

Montreal Gunman Kills 14 Women and Himself

Montreal, Dec. 6 (AP) - A young man with a rifle killed 14 women and wounded 12 other people today in a shooting rampage at the University of Montreal engineering school, then shot himself to death, the police said.       Police said the gunman had singled out women as his targets, beginning the assault in the cafeteria, where he killed three women. 

The Montreal Police Director, Claude St.-Laurent said the gunman, wearing hunting attire, then rushed into a crowded classroom on the second floor and yelled in French, “You’re all a bunch of feminists!” before he started shooting there.  Witnesses said the man divided the students in the classroom by sex and sent the men into the corridor before opening fire on the women. 

Six women were fatally shot in the classroom.  Another woman was slain in an administration office on the same floor.  Then the man, carrying what looked like a .22-caliber rifle, left in search of more victims, Mr. St.-Laurent said.  The gunman prowled the halls, killing four more women in the corridor of the third floor.  He continued up to the fourth and fifth floors, shooting and wounding both men and women.  Police said he then returned to the third floor and killed himself.

The police said the gunman was a French-speaking male and was not further identified.  Officials said that one police officer called to the scene found his daughter among the dead.  One student said a bullet passed by his leg and he brought his hands up in a pleading gesture.  The gunman left him alone.  “He was clearly gunning for the women,” the student said.

 

WOMEN’S CENTER INTERNSHIPS

     Have you ever considered an internship at the WCU Women’s Center?  Are you concerned with women’s issues?  Are you going into a career that promotes emotional, intellectual, spiritual, or physical well-being?  Consider doing your internship at the Women’s Center.  Responsibilities vary depending on the major and the expectations and goals of the student.  Stop by or call Robin Garrett at 2122, #7 for more information.

 

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Fearless Friday, Nov. 2 a day to

 accept and affirm oneself

            Tired of trying to achieve those body image standards we face with every turn of the magazine page and click of the remote?  Allowing how "successful" a diet is to determine how you feel about yourself?  Far too often we, as individual women and as a society, define our self-worth based on the physical, rather than who we are as people.  These are not at all uncommon on college campuses.  As a microcosm of the larger society, anxiety over one's physical appearance is a familiar thought that many encounter daily.  It’s what drives many to diet and exercise compulsively in order to attain that sought-after physical "perfection."  In a society that places a high value on one's physical appearance and sets impossible and meaningless standards that many try to live by, it is easy to lose yourself.

            On November 2, the Women's Center invites you to celebrate Fearless Friday.  It is a day for everyone to let go of any unhealthy or obsessive dieting, to treat their body with respect, and to celebrate their body in its natural shape and size.  This is an opportunity to redefine yourself by making changes towards overall healthier living, not allowing solely the physical to define who you are.  If you'd like information on healthy eating and healthy lifestyle in general, check out the resources at the Health Center and Wellness Center, 2nd floor Wayne.  (If you or someone you know has food issues that go beyond dieting into the realm of a possible eating disorder, help is available on campus through the Counseling Center in Lawrence and also the Health Center.)