One year since stabbing attack in University Waterloo gender issues lecture

A year ago today, a professor and two students were stabbed during a gender issues lecture in the University of Waterloo’s Hagey Hall.

Geovanny Villalba-Aleman, a former international student accused of the attack, pleaded guilty to some but not all the charges he was facing. The now 25-year-old is facing an attempted murder charge and terrorism charges, as well as others.

On June 28 a year later, the university’s President and Vice Chancellor, Vivek Goel, released a statement about the hate-motivated attack. The day brings a “sense of shock” over the incident, he wrote.

As we mark one year since the attack, my thoughts are with the courageous individuals in the classroom, along with the first responders who were quickly on the scene,” he said. “No one should have to experience what they did. We also can’t forget those who were not directly involved but still traumatized by the attack.”

Goel said in the days that followed the stabbing, the campus community came together. The incident happened just as Pride Month was closing out, making the alleged attack targeted toward gender expression that much “poignant.”

“A new emergency notification system will launch later this summer, and more cross-campus collaborations are being established to address communications and transparency,” he wrote.

About 40 students were in the classroom when the stabbing took place. According to reports after the incident, some people tried to stop the attack by throwing chairs and other objects at the suspect.

Hours later students said they received an alert about the situation to their phones which raised questions about speed of the school’s emergency response. The UW vice president at the time acknowledged the delay in the messaging and vowed to review.

“There is still work to be done to heal our collective wounds and foster inclusiveness and safety on our campuses,” Goel said.