Written by: Aaron Richardson
October 3, 2018
I first heard rumours of the lost campus of SFU a couple months ago, but I dismissed the idea instantly. A campus that wasn’t on Burnaby Mountain? Preposterous. However, over the past few days, I’ve heard of students supposedly taking classes on this lost campus. It was a ridiculous idea, but one I couldn’t get out of my head. Against my better judgement, the search begins tomorrow.
October 8, 2018
I’ve been scouring documents left by SFU Administration looking for any mention of this lost campus or its location, but to no avail. There has been no mention of its existence by those who run the school. If it exists, they do not know of it. The search continues.
October 12, 2018
I thought that perhaps the SFSS might make some reference to the campus, as they claim to represent and provide aid for all students. But once again, no luck. In fact, I seem to have found evidence that there is only one campus. To pay for the new Student Union Building, the SFSS is charging all students. If all students are paying for the Student Union Building, and the building is on Burnaby campus, then surely all students go to class in Burnaby. It would be such an odd decision otherwise!
Once again, I must look somewhere else.
October 23, 2018
A break in the case! I decided that perhaps speaking to students might be the best option. If it does exist, there are bound to be some students who would know of it. It took over a week of walking around campus and talking to students before a single one had any knowledge of a campus other than Burnaby Mountain. But finally I found them! Students in the Publishing program told me that it resides in Vancouver, and in Harbour Centre of all places! Right under my nose. I begin my voyage tomorrow.
October 24, 2018
Making my way downtown, I kept my eyes on the tower of Harbour Centre, waiting to discover what treasures may await me there. When I arrived, I stood in awe at the entrance. It was indeed abandoned. No more than a handful of people would file in and out of the doors in a couple minutes. Inside, there were barely more than a dozen people on the main floor, and a library that actually had vacant chairs and computers.
Where were the throngs of cramped students running from class in one building to another over a kilometre away? Where were the students unloading out of the sardine cans we call buses sweating from the latent heat of strangers’ sticky bodies pressed up against them? Where was the omnipresent noise of construction and screaming children that filled the campus from one end to another? There was no question about it: this place had been abandoned for a long time. But at least I found it. Finally, I can forget all about its existence once again.
October 29, 2018
My victory did not last. Once again, I heard rumours of another SFU campus — this time in Surrey. I don’t know how reliable these rumours are. But they are worth investigating. The search begins again.
