Observe a moment of silence at 11 a.m.

The University of Calgary would like to encourage all students, faculty and staff to recognize a minute of silence at 11 a.m. today to remember those who lost their lives in the crash of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 in Iran last week.

UCalgary supports a commemorative and national initiative by Universities Canada to mourn and remember the 176 passengers who perished.

Many of the people had connections to post-secondary institutions in Canada, including at UCalgary. Hundreds attended a vigil on campus on Jan. 12 to remember alumni Marzieh Foroutan and Shadi Jamshidi, along with Calgarians Arshia Arbabbahrami and Kasra Saati.

“The outpouring of support for the families of the victims affected by this tragedy has been tremendous. The UCalgary community is mourning with the rest of the country and the world,” says Ed McCauley, president and vice-chancellor, University of Calgary. “It is often under tragic circumstances like these that we form stronger bonds with one another and we will not forget how the victims have touched so many lives.”

At 11 a.m. today, Jan. 15, 2020, please consider taking one minute to stop, reflect and remember those who lost their lives in this tragedy that occurred a week ago today.

• Photo above: A makeshift memorial was set up in North York, Ont., for victims of the crash of Flight 752. Photo by Can Pac Swire published under Creative Commons licence