With white ribbons pinned to their jackets, UBC Okanagan students, staff and supporters placed white roses at the base of the Memorial Fire Bowl, located outside of the campus' engineering building, in remembrance of the 14 women who were killed while attending University 35 years ago. 

香蕉视频直播淓very December, our campus community comes together to honour the memory of the women killed in 1989 at Montreal香蕉视频直播檚 脡cole Polytechnique in a brutal act of femicide,香蕉视频直播� said Lesley Cormack PhD, deputy vice-chancellor of UBC Okanagan.

At the memorial event, Cormack spoke about how she was doing post-docturate research at a University in Ontario when she got a phone call from a friend, notifying her of the tragedy that had unfolded at an engineering class just a few hours away, in Montreal. 

Cormack said that the targeted shooting of 14 women hit close to home and set her on a path toward creating a safe and welcoming space for all people to feel welcome in academia. 

"While there is no place for violence against women in our society, there is absolutely a place for women in every profession and discipline, including engineering," said Cormack. 

Guest speaker Bowinn Ma, MLA for North Vancouver-Lonsdale and BC's Minister of Infrastructure spoke about her own experiences as a female engineer navigating the misogynistic and patriarchal systems that persist in society and the workforce.

"1989 feels like a long, long time ago ... It is easy for us to imagine that violence against women is a long-ago issue that doesn't exist today," said Ma, in an interview after the memorial ceremony. 

"Even today, more than 1000 women in B.C. experience sexual or physical violence every single week. The risk of gender-based violence is even higher for Indigenous and racialized women and girls, 2SLGBTQIA+ people and those with disabilities," said Ma.

In honour of the women who were killed on Dec. 6, 1989, and for all women who continue to experience gender-based violence, Ma is committed to promoting education, mentorship and support for women.

"There is a lot of value in mentorship and in seeing other women in leadership roles," said Ma. 

Presently, only 17 per cent of the UBCO engineering student body identifies as female.

"The gains women have made did not come about by accident," said Ma, recounting times when female role models helped advance her career, and hopes to do the same for the next generation of leaders.

Laura Patterson, PhD, Equity Diversity and Inclusion advisor and professor at UBCO was one of the organizers of the 14 Not Forgotten memorial said: "I could not do what I am doing today if it were not for mentors," in an interview after the memorial.

In addition to the tragic loss of life, Patterson said that society also lost 14 leaders. "Those 14 women would have been close to retirement now," she said. "That is 35 years of lost leaders."

She said that even tough the 14 students are no longer with us, "their impact is felt."

Looking around at the students walking through the halls on their last day of classes before the winter break she said: "it could have been anybody."

Patterson strives to educate her students about the fact that even though many of them were not born when the act of misogynist terrorism took place, there are still underlying misogynistic and patriarchal structures that impact women in all facets of their life, from their safety and their careers. 

"Often people don't even realize they hold onto these systems," said Patterson. 

She encourages all people to educate themselves about how patriarchal structures may impact their lives and to take a stand against gender-based violence and discrimination.