VIU: A Monument

If you've been following me through the summer, I hope you've enjoyed reading about my work and adventures since the spring semestre ended this year, and I hope you've had an engaging summer too! Now we're back to school, and the weather is getting kind of sketchy, so I hope to see lots of students enjoying our beautiful campus!

On returning to school each fall, perhaps many students are dreading the abundance of stairs they will be forced to resume climbing. Have the muscles in your legs gotten lazy? Will students from all the upper departments be seen panting and gasping for air as they hike up to their classes?


When I lived in Japan, I visited a famous shrine in the neighbouring city, Kotohira. This shrine was famous for its abundance of stairs! There were 1368 steps set into the side of a mountain, and pilgrims came from all over Japan to climb them and pray for protection. Above is a picture of me sitting near the bottom (2005).


I was wondering how the university would compare in scale to this monument in a faraway land. Does anyone know how many stairs there are at VIU? Today, I got my friend Desiree to come and count them with me!


I decided that we'd get the longest direct route if we started from the bottom, at The Velvet Underground (our pub), went up in a straight line past the library; finally reaching the front door of building 280 at the top. It turns out that there are only 401 steps, and it only took us about ten minutes at a leisurely pace!

Maybe this will inspire students to look at out own stairs as less of a trial? It's easy to complain about the stairs, but in a far away land such landmark architecture could be considered a monument! I'm not saying we should all meet at the new International Sturgeon Research Centre for prayers, but it's something interesting to think about!



You know, it's hard for me to tell who is reading my blog, because I don't get a lot of comments, and I'm only able to track the traffic, so if you're a reader, and you see me on campus, say hello!