Multi-floor campus buildings must provide elevators to accommodate students, faculty and staff with disabilities, but many able-bodied members of the campus community utilize them as well.
Students said many of the university elevators feel unsafe.
“Do not use the sketchy Gold Star elevator if you want to live,” said Nicholas Reese, acting junior. “I got stuck in there the other day. It wasn’t stopped for long, but it was the most terrifying moment of my life.”
All passenger elevators must be inspected by a licensed elevator inspector annually, according to the Elevator Safety Act. Inspection certificates must be posted in a visible location inside the elevator. When an elevator does not pass inspection, the institution that owns it has 90 days to fix the problem.
Jacqueline Bennett, acting sophomore, said she has seen the United Methodist Hall elevators undergo several repairs in her two years here.
“The Methodist elevators are probably the best, comfort-wise, but people sometimes break them by hitting the buttons too hard,” Bennett said. “The ones in Walker are pretty reliable and 100 percent faster.”
One student said she enjoys the irony of the Wanda L. Bass Music Center elevators.
“There’s a rumor that Wanda Bass was extremely afraid of elevators, which is why the Bass elevators are so slow,” said Libby White, music business sophomore. “It’s funny, though, because the speed makes them scarier, and they shake the whole ride.”
Another student said she wants the university to provide elevators for Cokesbury Court Apartments.
“I need an elevator to get to my room, especially during move-in,” said Kally Duncan, acting senior. “I’m not strong enough to carry a huge-ass dresser up those stairs.”
Students rate elevators
A group of students rode all of the elevators on campus and scored them based on size, smell, sound, speed, and overall experience. They found:
– Largest elevator: Kramer School of Nursing East
– Best smelling elevator: Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center
– Best sounding elevator: Meinders School of Business
– Speediest elevator: Dulaney-Browne Library
– Best overall experience: Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Building
The Kirkpatrick elevator provided the most pleasant ride, but it had an inconvenient location and only spanned three floors, making the library elevator more useful.
Wanda L. Bass Music Center elevators are the slowest and Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center elevators are the smelliest.
Overall worst elevator went to the Ann Lacy Admissions and Visitor Center elevator, which was “awkwardly silent with a terrifying jolt at the end.”
The results did not include the elevator in the Gold Star Memorial Building because it was out of order. Students do not review it fondly when it’s operational.
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