UA proposes painting stairwells in campus buildings

High-rise residents and Nursing students may have extra incentive to nix the elevators for stairs in the future.

The Undergraduate Assembly's Civic and Community Engagement Committee has drafted a proposal to paint the stairwells in a number of buildings, including Harnwell, Harrison and Rodin college houses and Claire Fagin Hall.

Nursing senior and UA member Yana Sigal, who is heading up the project, said the idea came about after several student leaders in the Nursing School expressed interest in increasing stair usage by improving aesthetics.

Hoping to entice more students to bypass the elevators, Sigal suggested both a "beautification" of the Fagin Hall steps and a promotion of the health benefits associated with taking the stairs.

"We hope that it will make people physically healthier and just make the stairs more beautiful," Sigal said.

Nursing Professor Stella Volpe worked closely with Sigal and others on the project, at the time limited to the Nursing School, explained Sigal. After finding support for the idea, Sigal turned to the UA with plans to expand it to more of campus.

College freshman and UA volunteer member Jonathan Kayne is working alongside Sigal to progress the project.

"We're not only painting the stairs - we're looking to bring together a group of artistic students," Kayne said. "We're focusing on getting a community of students from very different groups involved together."

If the proposal for the project passes, Kayne explained, the UA will accept submissions for potential designs for both Fagin Hall and the college houses.

The winning sketch for each building will be projected onto the stairwell walls, where students with any degree of artistic skill can help paint, Kayne said.

"It would be great if students [who don't live in the high rises] and residents worked together to paint the walls," said College sophomore and Harnwell resident Emily Ettel.

However, the project only intends to cover the first five floors in the high rises - and Ettel lives on the 24th.

Asked if she would take the stairs, she replied with a laugh, "Probably not."

Mark Pan, a College sophomore and chairman of the committee overseeing the initiative, has kept the UA informed as the project has crystallized. The group will most likely vote on the proposal within the next two weeks, Kayne said.

While the Fagin Hall portion of the project has received funding via a grant from Nursing Dean Afaf Meleis, the UA is waiting for the project proposal to pass before securing funds for the college-house side of the initiative.

The UA has received support from Harrison and Rodin, but plans to wait until the proposal passes before moving forward, Kayne said.

He said he hopes the project will "bring together students who may not otherwise hang out" during the painting process, making it a "campus-wide effort."

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