Elevator issues plague dorm residents

Elevators in Harrison College House took a break as well this past holiday season.

During the three weeks of break, an e-mail was sent to a number of Harrison residents, notifying them of the elevators' malfunctioning.

"As of 4:55 [p.m.] Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2003, three of the elevators are not working and the elevator that does work is stopping at every and only odd floors on the way down," House Services Building Administrator Barry Lasley wrote in the e-mail he sent.

However, in the same statement, University administrators said the problem was already being addressed.

"I don't know the details," Vice President of Facilities and Real Estate Services Omar Blaik said. "There have been problems, they have been reported and they are being dealt with."

Now that students have returned to campus, one of the elevators is still out of order.

"Since I came back yesterday, one of the elevators has been stuck on [the 23rd] floor," College senior Corinne Beiersdorfer said. "But it could have been there longer."

Many students said they are upset with these technical quirks, and blamed the old age of the equipment.

"Maybe they're haunted," College sophomore Tara Mendola said.

Yet many residents said that aside from the usual delays, they have not noticed any problems with the elevators.

"Service-wise, they have been fine," College sophomore Elspeth Call said.

She added that before winter break a few elevators experienced malfunctions for a couple of hours, but that she thought the situation had been resolved before her departure.

Many students said they did not receive the e-mail statement, or that they failed to pay close attention to it since they were not on campus.

"I don't think I received an e-mail, but since I live on the first floor, I don't take the elevator anyway," Wharton senior Ahreum Kang said. "And I did not hear anything from others."

Students said that these kinds of problems are not a novelty, nor a rarity.

She said that the elevators making stops only on odd floors has happened before, along with a series of other mishaps.

"Usually three elevators are working and one is broken. They change," Mendola said. "Or one comes down to the bottom and doesn't come up."

Some students said that during the weekend, only a couple of elevators were functioning.

"When everyone was trying to move in, only two worked," College sophomore Becca Aronson said. "You had to wait 15 minutes for an elevator."

In the meantime, students can yield to the e-mail's closing suggestion: "If you are coming down, go to an odd floor to catch the elevator."

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