Three weeks ago this Wednesday was my birthday.

In celebration, I decided to skip out on doing work and see a late afternoon movie with a couple friends. On the way out of the theater, I immediately whipped out my phone, excited to check my voicemail for birthday messages. There was the usual mom message, next a few from friends from home singing some birthday wishes and telling me to go crazy and then the shell-shocker.

‘Hali, you don’t even know what happened,’ it began. ‘I was just on the phone with 911 because I was stuck in an elevator.’ But then static overtook the remainder of the message, leaving me with the notion that my roommate had a.) either been attacked on her way to the Fresh Food Co. or b.) stuck in a BU elevator. The answer was B. Or should I say SB (the Sub Basement) because that is where the elevator dropped to when my roommate was attempting to get off the elevator in the Rich Hall lobby.

Finally, when I was able to get in touch with her, she told me the elevator had unstoppably dropped, leaving her and about six other hysterical girls trapped in complete and utter terror.

After pressing the alarm buttons numerous times in what officials call the ‘safe and inspected’ BU elevators, there was no response not even from the Rich Hall security guard who was most likely watching the 10 plus video scenes displayed on his new flat screen. Plus it turns out that there was not enough cell phone service in the elevator for anyone on the elevator to talk to 911 long enough to explain what was going on.

About 15 dreadfully claustrophobic minutes later, the elevator pulled through and dropped the girls off at their original destination. Most in tears as they walked into civilization, they were confronted by nobody but a chuckling security guard. I guess when he was watching the ordeal on his screen, he must have thought it was picture-in-picture or something.

So, all in all, are BU elevators really safe, officials? No!

Hali Narins COM ’06