It’s not something most of us consider unless we’ve experienced the need for it. Most students pay no attention to the contraptions, but as flocks of students seep into the already congested hallways, the appeal of sneakily taking them without permission surely increases. Their unauthorized use is often disregarded, going unnoticed by the majority of the student body—but, undoubtedly, taking the elevators even without permission is a thought that has breached most students’ minds. 

Some may argue that infrequent, occasional use of these elevators is unproblematic; however, students who require these elevators need to use them efficiently. Sarah Hsia 25’ expresses, “As an injured person, I think that it’s a little bit unfair that other people are using the elevators when they don’t need it, especially because it makes the elevator really slow. I’ve been late to class a few times because I’m waiting for the elevator.” Hsia jokingly remarked that she sometimes feels “like I’m waiting for it for so long that it would honestly be faster if I took the stairs–like limp up the stairs.” Following her quip, she noted that she doesn’t fully discount the enticement towards taking the elevators either, stating she “understand[s] the appeal” out of convenience factor for some. Despite this, the overall inconvenience for those who require elevator use is inhibited by increased traffic from those who do not use the elevators.

The conversation surrounding the use of elevators without permission is oddly nuanced. Maggie Bowman, Junior dean, notes that “there’s not enough [elevators] to accommodate broad student use,” corroborating Hsia’s earlier points about low availability. Bowman further expresses the legal issues with unauthorized students in elevators, “Let’s say the elevator stopped working and there were two students in there unsupervised. Liability-wise, we can’t have that as a school. We’re supposed to be in charge of the building.” Elevator use goes beyond a casual trip to get from Math to English. Using elevators without permission leads to not only injured students missing valuable class time but also can potentially be dangerous for students, additionally causing legal issues for the school. Bowman further expresses her understanding of people wanting to use the elevators out of convenience but ultimately states that “it’s just a rule that we can’t let students use the elevator… we can’t just open it up to students all the time. I have to make sure I’m equitably distributing that rule to everyone.”