Wednesday 13 September 2006

1:36

If you're not watching CBC newsworld maybe you should be. What in the hell is wrong with people?

In 1989 Marc Lepine walked into a university in Montreal and shot 26 women, killing 14 after ordering the men to leave.

Four hours after that happened, I had to go write an exam. I was 18 years old and two months into my first year as a student at an all-female university. Anonymous, copycat threats had been phoned in and so police and security presences were high.

We were searched, had our IDs checked and boyfriends, brothers and male faculty were given a serious degree of scrutiny. I remember being almost too scared to focus on the stupid math exam. All I could think was that it only took one crazy man with a gun to change someone's life forever, or take away someone you love.

I scored a 37 and was granted a rewrite. Permanently scarred, I scored a 49 the second time. This just makes my skin crawl. No excuse. I don't care what the reasons, if any, turn out to be.