Ahead of the 35th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre on Friday, Annie Ross, a mechanical engineering professor at Polytechnique Montr茅al, said she often thinks of those who lived through the tragedy but still suffer silently.

On Dec. 6, 1989, a man motivated by a hatred of feminists shot and killed 14 women and injured 13 other people at the Montreal engineering school affiliated with Universit茅 de Montr茅al.

Ross was in her fourth year in mechanical engineering at Polytechnique, and narrowly avoided the gunman. Her friends weren91裸聊视频檛 as lucky.

91裸聊视频淭hat day, I was studying at Polytechnique, preparing for my exams and I was supposed to go in class with them 91裸聊视频� with that group. They were presenting their final project and it was all exciting,91裸聊视频� Ross said in a recent interview.

But instead of walking into class, she decided to go home and study. 91裸聊视频淭hat was minutes before the tragedy happened (and) by the time I got home, it was over.91裸聊视频�

Many of her friends were murdered that day, people who were her lifeline to the city, as she had just moved to Montreal from New Brunswick. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 stupid, but I did feel that I let them down because I wasn91裸聊视频檛 there for them even though it91裸聊视频檚 not rational at all.91裸聊视频�

In the aftermath, during events to honour the dead and the survivors, she felt like an intruder 91裸聊视频� that the memories of the day didn91裸聊视频檛 belong to her. 91裸聊视频淭hat was pretty difficult to go through.91裸聊视频�

She didn91裸聊视频檛 witness the violence but was deeply affected by it. And 35 years later, Ross, who also serves as the deputy vice-president of research at the institution, avoids certain parts of the school.

She imagines that many people are dealing with something similar 91裸聊视频� struggling in silence.

91裸聊视频淭hey91裸聊视频檙e suffering, they91裸聊视频檙e still hurting and that will be for the rest of their lives, so it91裸聊视频檚 a big, big hole.91裸聊视频�

The names of the 14 women who were killed that day are etched in the hearts and minds of Montrealers; many can recite their names from memory: Genevi猫ve Bergeron, H茅l猫ne Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Lagani猫re, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Mich猫le Richard, Annie St-Arneault, Annie Turcotte and Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz.

One of Ross91裸聊视频檚 classmates was Nathalie Provost.

Provost was shot four times in the attack and became a spokesperson for survivors and an advocate for stricter gun control laws, a fight that continues 35 years on. In an interview this week, Provost said she will be thinking on Friday about all the parents of students at the school that day in 1989, parents who likely went through hell and back. Provost91裸聊视频檚 own mother died this year.

91裸聊视频淚 cannot imagine how awful that night must have been for all the families, for my mother who was expecting a call from me. And I also know that the possibility that something like Polytechnique, it can happen again,91裸聊视频� Provost said, tearing up.

91裸聊视频淚 think I will bear in my heart the memory of my mother and all the families who had to live that awful night.91裸聊视频�

Provost said she also takes solace in the fact that mental health 91裸聊视频� post-traumatic stress and the stigma associated with mental illness 91裸聊视频� is talked about much more than it was 35 years ago. 91裸聊视频淚 needed help and I was really lucky because I got it 91裸聊视频� but we are more and more kind about those who suffer from mental health issues,91裸聊视频� Provost said.

In 1991, Dec. 6 was proclaimed by the federal government as National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. But only more recently has the attack been defined as 91裸聊视频渁nti-feminist.91裸聊视频�

Today, the term 91裸聊视频渇emicide91裸聊视频� is used more frequently to describe the murder of women. Provost said the increased use of the word is a reflection of a society that is coming to terms with the high prevalence of gender-based violence.

91裸聊视频淲e are more and more able to name what things are 91裸聊视频� we are now able to name the reality and to face the reality, and that was not the case 35 years ago.91裸聊视频�

For Ross, one of her goals is to increase the number of female engineers graduating in Canada. There isn91裸聊视频檛 a direct link between the 1989 tragedy and her mission, she said, but 91裸聊视频渋f anything, it did reinforce this feeling that all doors should be open to everyone.91裸聊视频�

Ross said that in 1989 she was the only female student in her class, but never felt out of place. 91裸聊视频淗owever, I91裸聊视频檝e grown to learn that it91裸聊视频檚 not the same for all girls.91裸聊视频�

At Polytechnique, 32 per cent of incoming students were women this semester. Ross said that number increases by half a percentage point every year. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 positive, but it91裸聊视频檚 fairly low, and at that rate, it will take a very long time before we reach what we call the parity zone,91裸聊视频� Ross said. In Quebec, 85 per cent of engineers are male, according to the province91裸聊视频檚 order of engineers, she added.

She questions who bears responsibility to change that. 91裸聊视频淒oes it belong to women? Does it belong to girls? Does it belong to teachers? Does it belong to decision makers? And particularly, does it belong to men?91裸聊视频�

One young engineer is Makenna Kuzyk, the 10th recipient of the Order of the White Rose, the $50,000 scholarship awarded annually to a female engineering student in Canada who wishes to enrol in graduate studies in engineering anywhere in the world. Beginning in 2025, there are plans to expand the award, with an eventual goal of awarding 14 scholarships a year.

Kuzyk, 23, from Calgary, did her undergraduate degree at the University of Alberta in mechanical engineering and will attend the International Test Pilots School, in London, Ont., starting next month for flight test engineering 91裸聊视频� only the second civilian, and first woman, to do so.

In an interview, Kuzyk said that seeing a book about the massacre on the table of a relative91裸聊视频檚 house 91裸聊视频� many of the victims were the same age as her 91裸聊视频� caught her attention.

91裸聊视频淚t really became kind of personal for me, I guess I really did feel connected to that story and it made me want to make a change because it hit really close to home,91裸聊视频� Kuzyk said.

91裸聊视频淭he motivation is to not let them be forgotten and to kind of carry their dreams is kind of what I want to do.91裸聊视频�