The Womxn's Centre will host a vigil Friday in honour of the 14 women who were killed in the 1989 École Polytéchnique massacre.

On Dec. 6, the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, representatives from the Womxn’s Centre and the university’s Women in Engineering club will gather at 11 a.m. for a rose ceremony at the Memorial of Hope between Dillon and Essex halls.

Presentations will follow at noon in the Katzman Lounge, Vanier Hall. Speakers include Frankie Cachon, a UWindsor professor in the Women’s and Gender Studies Department; Anita Prskalo, a counselor at Hiatus House and survivor of abuse; and Priscilla Williams, a UWindsor engineering graduate.

“This event has always been an important one for the University of Windsor community,” said Micaela Nimmo, co-ordinator of the Womxn’s Centre. “By remembering the victims of this tragedy, and all those affected by gendered violence, we can continue bringing visibility to the abuse that many women face daily.”

Lori Dupont, a Windsor nurse who was murdered at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital in 2005, will also be honoured during the ceremony.

In 1991, the Parliament of Canada created the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in response to the massacre of the women — most of whom were engineering students — at École Polytechnique de Montréal.

Tara Munro feels lucky to be able to give.

Maintenance supervisor for Canterbury College, she joined colleagues across the campus in donating to the Adopt-a-Family program.

“We’re personally fortunate and we just wanted to help people who aren’t as fortunate so they can have a great Christmas,” she said Wednesday as she helped to fill a truck parked outside the Welcome Centre.

Under the program of the Windsor-Essex Children’s Aid Society Foundation, faculties, departments, and individuals “adopt” local families in need and raise cash or buy items on their wish lists.

Departments and individuals across campus donated a record $27,000 in gifts to a total of 41 recipients.

Their generosity addresses a very real need in Windsor-Essex, says Sabina Howell, who co-ordinated the effort through the University’s public affairs office.

“The wish lists that come in always include necessities we take for granted, like winter clothing and housewares,” she says. “It’s wonderful to see our faculty, staff, and students step up to help out.”

When Master’s student Kiirsti Owen was inspired to create an advent calendar teaching statistical software for her partner, she had no idea it would capture the imagination of hundreds of thousands of people across the globe.

“My partner had expressed an interest in learning how to use the programming language R,” explained Owen. “I decided to create an advent calendar, where each day would provide him with a little lesson on how to use the program.”

R is a programing language and statistical analysis package, which has become one of the most widespread software tools used by scientists.

“R can be really challenging to learn at first, which I think deters a lot of people from trying to learn how to use it,” Owen said. “I wanted to create a fun and easy way to learn the basics.”

She posted about the advent calendar on Twitter and it went viral. Within a few days, Owen’s tweet about the calendar had been viewed by more than a quarter of a million people, many of them asking for a copy of the guide, or offering to purchase it.

“I was very surprised by how excited people were about this,” said Owen. “I decided to make the guide freely available to the public.”

She posted the advent calendar on her website, and in the first 48 hours it has been visited by more than 10,000 people.

Now in the second year of her Master’s degree, Owen was a newcomer to the R programming language herself just a year ago.

“I learned how to use R this year, mostly through self-teaching and some informal workshops run by Rick Simpson, a post-doctoral fellow in Stéphanie Doucet’s lab,” she said. “Rick has been very helpful in teaching me some of the basics in R, so this is my way of paying it forward.”

Owen said that her biggest hope is that her guide might help turn people on to R: “By Christmas Day, anyone who is working through the R advent calendaR should finish with some basic skills and familiarity with the platform. The perfect gift for any scientist!”

Anyone can download and follow Owen’s “R Advent CalendaR.”

A day-long, hands-on culinary experience will teach UWindsor chefs how to create and present delicious plant-based foods — and there is space for a few others to join them.

Forward Food, a program of the Humane Society International, provides training in preparing meatless dishes to promote both health and environmental sustainability. Food and Catering Services will host a workshop at the University of Windsor on Friday, Dec. 20, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Executive chef Paolo Vasapolli says there is a limited number of spaces available for interested students and maybe even employees.

“We see more and more of our patrons seeking vegan options and want to up our game a bit,” he says. “I would like for students, especially vegan students in residence, to be able to participate.”

If there is additional room, he will extend the invitation to UWindsor faculty and staff. Vasapolli invites those interested to contact him at 519-253-3000, ext. 3275, or paolov@uwindsor.ca.

Janet Collins, co-ordinator of engineering programs in Co-operative Education & Workplace Partnerships, won Wednesday’s DailyNews trivia quiz and its prize of two tickets to the Festival of Christmas choral concert, Dec. 7 and 8 in the Heritage Auditorium, Assumption Hall.

Her entry was drawn from all those which correctly completed the opening line of Ding Dong Merrily on High  as “in heav’n the bells are ringing;” noted that in Silver Bells, “city sidewalks, busy sidewalks” are dressed in holiday style; and identified Ave Maria as the Latin form of the “Hail Mary.”

The concert will present the UWindsor Chamber Choir and University Singers performing seasonal favourites. Both Saturday and Sunday performances are at 2:30 p.m. Admission is $20, with a student rate of $10. Purchase tickets in advance online; at the door payment will be accepted in cash only.