Eyeopener Staff
While those attending Remembrance Day ceremonies paused for two minutes of silence, people at Ryerson remained quite loud.
At 11 a.m., many students, staff and faculty were still walking around the hallways, working in classrooms, and talking.
Some chatted while standing in line for a coffee. One classroom in south Kerr Hall was quiet-but that’s because the people in it were writing a test. An unscientific Eyeopener poll showed 69 per cent of students did not pause for a moment of silence, something the university had asked everyone to do in an e-mail sent the day before.
Sixteen per cent of those who didn’t stop were in class at the time. Many students felt bad they had forgotten the moment of silence meant to honour the almost 100,000 Canadians who lost their lives fighting in wars.
“I didn’t realize it was 11 o’clock, but I do have my poppy on my jacket,” said second-year fashion student Danielle Suppa. “Now I feel really bad about it.”
But not everyone forgot to observe a moment of silence. About 31 per cent of students stopped for two minutes at 11 a.m., a majority – 51 per cent – stayed silent in class. Daniel Dever, a first-year retail management student, was walking outside the Podium with his friends when they noticed the time. “We knew it was 11 a.m. so we walked quietly,” Dever said while pointing to the poppy on his jacket.
The Eyeopener polled 255 students, beginning at noon on Nov. 11 until noon Nov. 12.
Seventy-nine respondents said they observed a moment of silence, 174 students said they didn’t.
-With files from Erica Rodd and David Musalaya.
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