Why is this simple cairn, the Great Trek Cairn, so important to the University of British Columbia? It’s a symbol of student activism that literally built this campus. Picture this: Vancouver, 1922. World War I had ended, but UBC was still stuck in temporary “shacks” at Fairview, its Point Grey campus a distant dream. The government, dragging its feet on funding, hadn’t resumed construction. That’s when UBC students, led by AMS President Ab Richards, decided to take matters into their own hands. Their weapon? Not protests or sit-ins, but a “Build the University Campaign”. They spent the summer gathering signatures, a whopping 56,000 in total. Then, on October 28th, they embarked on a pilgrimage, a “Great Trek” from downtown Vancouver to the unfinished Point Grey campus. Imagine 1,200 students marching, banners flying, a marching band playing, all the way to these very grounds. They climbed the skeletal frame of the unfinished science building, a symbolic “sit-in” to claim their campus. And they dedicated this very cairn, the first structure completed on the Point Grey campus, a testament to their determination. Their efforts paid off. The government, swayed by public support and the students’ passion, finally resumed construction. So, the Great Trek Cairn isn’t just a pile of rocks. It’s a reminder of the power of student activism, a symbol of UBC’s past, and a promise for its future.
Центральный дом работников искусств
Step through the grand wooden doors of the Central House of the Workers of Art, and you’ll be transported to