LARA TAI
Reporter/editor
Canadian flags on campuses all around Ontario were lowered to half-mast to honour the death of students that were among the victims of the fatal crash in Iran. The plane crash happened on January 8, 2020, when a Ukrainian airliner crashed near Tehran, Iran.
176 passengers died, including 57 Canadians, several of whom studied or taught at postsecondary institutions in Canada.
Some of the victims were George Brown College students in programs registered this fall term who were looking forward to attending the winter term. In response to this tragedy, GBC student Ali Tayebi Arasteh, President of the GBC Iranian Student Association as well as members and students close to the victim immediately put together a vigil for the students who died in the crash.
“They were friends that passed away in the air crash,” said Arasteh, “[there were] so many students and friends in the architecht program that planned this event right away.”
Ali Tayebi Arasteh described the event. “The Vigil was from 10:00 to 1:00 pm. Holding these kind of events is very helpful for the people that were close to [ the people ] that passed away. It helped create awareness. It helped them deal with the grief. Lots of people came which was great. It shows a lot. There was lots of class and staff from the college. It was light music and we showed her pictures and memories which was great. Our vice president talked which meant alot to us and we had a minute of silence [in memory of them]. “
George Brown College President Anne Sado said “The shock and sorrow felt across Canada right now feels particularly heightened for us with the tragic deaths of two of our students. To those of you who studied and worked with the students we lost this week, I extend my deepest sympathies”. Manisha Punjabi, Director of Education and Equity said “Since George Brown College is a community, we mourn together for their tragic deaths. The news was so devastating and especially for those who studied and worked with these two students that we lost. The vigil honoured the memories of those who died, which helped us to ease some of our pain that everyone must be feeling.”
Due to social media and online news broadcasting, students at GBC were aware of this tragedy immediately. Students were emotionally affected by the news and the Student Well being team were available to provide support on campus. Yukiko Ito, Senior Coordinator of Health Benefits at Student Association explained the impact on the students by saying “Students were speechless and emotionally devastated, as many young students [died] in the crash.
[The] Vigil aided them to support each other to overcome this tough time. As the student union, we extended our student assistant programs to aid anyone in need.”
If you need support, counselling services are available to you at each campus.You can call them at (416) 415-5000 ext. 2455 (St. James); ext. 4730 (Casa Loma); and ext. 5360 (Waterfront). Students can access our Student Assistant Program provider, real: campus, at 1-877-390-7325 or realcampus.ca/georgebrown/
