Circled in blue near the top of a College of Arts and Sciences elevator is an inspection notice that reads: “expires 7/18/07.” Similar outdated tags can be found in some of Warren Towers’ elevators, one of which gave students a scare last week.
A Shields Tower elevator jolted 11 students when it did not stop at any requested floors and then fell one story, according to a student.
College of Arts and Sciences freshman Lindsay Randall said during the first week of classes, the elevator ascended 13 stories without stopping, and was halfway to the 14th floor when it suddenly fell one floor and opened.
“When we got in, it started shaking,” she said. “Then it went to the 13th floor without stopping, and when it got there, it dropped like a jolt.”
No students were hurt in the incident, which Randall described as not too serious. She said she told the Office of Residence Life, and Facilities Management workers closed off the elevator.
BU spokesman Colin Riley said students usually cause elevator errors.
“The two primary causes are overcrowding and blocking the doors,” he said. “The best advice is to wait for the next elevator.”
The elevator that dropped during the first week of school was holding 11 people, three more than the suggested limit.
But some students have been stuck in elevators alone.
College of Communication junior Jillian Jorgensen, a Daily Free Press reporter, said she was trapped alone twice in the same Danielson Hall elevator.
The first time, Jorgensen was stuck between floors, and she called Facilities Management using the elevator phone. When they arrived 20 minutes later, they pried open the doors and held it open while she pulled herself out.
Riley said “there is no cause for concern” about BU’s elevators. Because the school has so many frequently used lifts, it is almost inevitable they will malfunction, and BU has efficient reactions to these situations, he said.
“If someone is stuck, it is going to be recognized,” he said. “We will have people responding within the hour, and then the elevator will be taken out of service while it is worked on.”
