In wake of triple stabbing on campus, University of Waterloo to hold engagement events on Monday

Two community forums will be held Monday by the University of Waterloo — one for staff and faculty and one for students — in the wake of a triple stabbing on campus last month.

The university's president Vivek Goel and vice president of academic and provost Jim Rush will be hosting the forums. The one for staff and faculty is in the morning and the one for students is in the afternoon. Both are being held in-person while also being livestreamed.

The university said the forums are to address "the recent hate-motivated attack related to gender expression and gender identity on the main campus."

On June 28, a 24-year-old man entered a gender studies class in Hagey Hall. A professor and two students were stabbed.

The accused is Geovanny Villalba-Aleman. The recent graduate from the university faces the following charges:

• Three counts of aggravated assault.
• Four counts of assault with a weapon.
• Two counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
• Mischief under $5,000.

Villalba-Aleman is scheduled to appear in court next on July 25.

Student groups to hold press conference Monday

The same day the university is holding the community forums, a group dubbed the Our Campus, Our Safety coalition is holding a press conference as well.

Speakers will include Katie Traynor, vice president of the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association, and Vivian Chiem, president of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance.

The group says the stabbings are "an urgent reminder of the need for safer campuses, free from violence and the threat of violence."

"Misogyny, patriarchy, and oppression underpin most mass violence in this country, from mass femicides like École Polytechnique to the recent attacks on 2SLGBTQIA+ communities across Canada," the group says in a release.

"Calls to action to end gendered hate and violence must be met with more than an ad hoc response: these are systemic issues that require a holistic framework that addresses policy, procedures, and prevention."

Students who spoke to CBC News this week said they're still feeling shaken.

Engineering student Shub Mano said it seemed "surreal that the whole thing even happened" on campus while psychology student Ria Gupta said the stabbings have given her nightmares.