A SFU Burnaby campus tour was a wonderful experience for newcomers to learn the history of Simon Fraser University founded in 1965, and its vibrant Burnaby campus. We were not only impressed by the dynamic campus life, but also how innovative their education is, and how community-engaged their research is.
On a cool summer morning the group took bus#144 heading up to Burnaby Mountain where the SFU Burnaby campus is located. As we came closer to the destination some Chinese newcomers were very surprised while entering into the university campus without passing through an entrance gate. To them, this is different from the universities in China that are usually surrounded by gates to separate themselves from the outside community.
Walking through the academic buildings, libraries, garden, dormitories and the cafeterias the group showed great interest in different aspects: the parents asked questions about the facilities, research accomplishments, and on-going renovation while grandparents were more interested in the environment, food quality and price of food in the cafeteria. Other newcomers were eager to learn about the history of SFU, the Museum of Archeology and Ethnology which relates to the First Nations territory that the campus is built on. They heard about the inspiring story of Terry Fox who used to be a Kinesiology student at SFU in 1977, as well as the Trottier Observatory, which is open to the public every Friday night during summer for the Starry Nights program.
