This week, Stanford finalized a proposal to build a $4.5 billion campus in Beijing. Dubbed “StanfordBJ,” the campus will increase the presence of Stanford across the Pacific.
“Stanford has proven to be a major tourist destination for visitors to Silicon Valley,” exclaimed President Hennessy. “StanfordBJ has the ability to help catapult Beijing to be a new center of tourism in not only Asia, but the entire world.”
In very small book of quotes, Hennessy outlined goals for Stanford’s proposal. In addition to an entire campus that looks exactly the same as the one in Palo Alto, Hennessy will place Rodin Sculpture Gardens all over the country and a miniature Lego Stanford in Shanghai.
Students are ambivalent about the announcement, as many are worried that tourism at the original Palo Alto campus will decline. “I just don’t see why we don’t spend that money here,” said sophomore Jack Simmons. “I don’t think Stanford will be the same without so many tourists, and there are definitely things we could improve here for our tourists.”
