The graduate who stood up and was counted

Robyn Hauck with her petition of over 12,000 signaturesWhat can one person do? Robyn Hauck has an answer.

Hauck, BCS'05, is a woman of strong beliefs. One of them is that smoking is a deadly blight on society; that in the interests of public health, it must be eliminated. In 2006, she watched as Calgary's anti-smoking legislation became stalled in a gridlock of competing interests and opinions. She decided to act.

Hauck mounted a one-woman advocacy campaign. She researched her subject and developed her case. She wrote letters and made phone calls. She rounded up like-minded Calgarians to support her. Articulate, passionate and tenacious, Robyn Hauck soon became a media celebrity. She was lauded and reviled, but she refused to be ignored. Over 12,000 citizens signed her petition. And in October 2006, she achieved a major victory.

After a passionate two-day debate, Calgary aldermen voted overwhelmingly to ban public smoking a year earlier than planned. Most media and some aldermen credited the landmark decision to Robyn Hauck's efforts.

We share Robyn Hauck's belief in public debate, informed conviction and social activism. She represents our fundamental values, and those of our democratic society. We are proud to claim her as a graduate of our university.