Victorians honour the fallen in second annual Nov. 11 ceremony

Sunday, November 11th, a cluster of Victorians gathered in their windswept quad at the unorthodox hour of two p.m. to commemorate fallen soldiers and victims of war. Though most attendees were separated from the two world wars by nearly two generations, faces were red and taut throughout Vic's 2nd annual Remembrance Day ceremony.

Beginning with "O Canada" made sense, and yet seemed a tad odd with the multicultural attendees who spent most of the time reminiscing on the victims of more recent, non-Canadian battles than the First and Second Great Wars.

Victoria College President Paul Gooch was the first to speak, explaining how during all of WWII, the college's flag never flew at full mast. He referred to Vic alum and WWI Victoria Cross recipient Major Thain Macdowell, who "was just one of the many from this college who went to fight on behalf of freedom."

"Today is a time to pause and, in remembrance, think of how [the trials of war]...affect our lives and our future," urged Gooch.

It was Vic's eleven-man acappella group, The Strandzas, who in 2006 thought it odd that Victoria didn't have its own ceremony, and so pushed to have the practice instituted.

"There's [a ceremony] done by all UofT at Soldier's Tower, but we wanted something that was Vic inclusive because both wars affected Vic particularly," explained second year Strandza member Devan Patel. "I think we just decided that we wanted to sing and Vic needed a Remembrance Day ceremony, so we kind of put the two together."

The chilly mood was broken into light-heartedness by VUSAC President Zinzi de Silva's small dog, who felt the need to prance back and forth, weaving between attendees with little yelps.

Despite the coolness of mood and weather, the outside ceremony was accompanied by the sound of numerous animals. Layered on top of the Strandzas' melodic sound was the consistent chirping of birds and intermittent sun.

The service ended melancholically, with many in agreement that the service was sad but good. Important.

Though turnout was fair, in comparison to the 3,600 students enrolled at Victoria, attendance was rather low. It was a Sunday afternoon in the middle of essay crunch-time.

People remember in different ways, and many hope that low attendance numbers don't speak for indifference, but rather, simply the busy lives of university students working hard.