Western University walkout advocates against gender-based violence on campus
Western University students participated in a nationwide walkout advocating against gender-based violence on post-secondary campuses Monday.
The Safe Campus Coalition group had events organized beginning Monday afternoon with opening remarks at the university college hill, followed by a moment of silence led by the Faculty of Engineering’s Allison Preyde.
Students walked across campus to promote change and to raise awareness that this type of violence is still common at universities.
Students were also commemorating the 14 victims who were killed in the École Polytechnique massacre 32 years ago.
Students chose to honour the women who died with a moment of silence, followed by reading all of their names.
On Dec. 6, 1989, a man opened fire in a classroom, killing 14 women, many of whom were engineering students.
Danica Facca, a PhD student with the Safe Campus Coalition said, “It’s definitely going to take time but at the very least we’re hoping that something like this can generate a nationwide conversation.”
During opening remarks on Monday, some students shared that they had been touched by this issue and wanted others to know they’re not alone.
Ziyana Kotadia, the vice president of university affairs for Western's University Students' Council spoke before the walk.
“My own relationship with rape culture and experiences with sexual and gender-based violence are deeply personal as they are for many of us today," she said.
In September, students walked out over after numerous allegations of sexual assaults were reported at a first-year residence at Western.
“Following that walkout, we decided that more work needed to be done nationwide across different sectors,” said Effie Sapuridis, who is with the coalition.
In a statement, the university said that it is not immune to these issues and that it is committed to taking action to eliminate gender-based violence on campus.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.