Many students who have lived in a dorm know the feeling; just out of lunch with only 10 minutes to get to class, but you forgot something on the fifth, eighth or maybe the 10th floor.

So you wait patiently twiddling your thumbs or refreshing your Twitter feed endlessly only to see the buffering symbol.  Time seems to be moving slowly until suddenly – ding. An elevator packed full of students and their backpacks scatter out like a burning anthill and you climb in with a herd of other students as everyone barks out their floor number to the person with the distinction of standing closest to the buttons. 

Why are there so many people on an elevator at once? Two reasons; it’s around noon on a weekday so everyone has somewhere to be and it turns out only one elevator is in order. Now you are going to be late to class. Because not only did you have to wait for the elevator to get you from the dining hall, but after you finally grab your forgotten book from your room, you have to wait for that one single elevator to go all the way back down and up again.

Those who live in the ninth or 10th floor of dorm buildings are likely familiar with this situation. Living on a top floor comes with its perks. But a nice view of campus or the Lake can be easily forgotten at the sight of an “out of order” sign on one or two elevators. To make matters worse, some buildings’ stairs only reach the third floor.  So when the stair climbing comes, you have to cross over to one side of the building on an unknown floor, ignoring the puzzled looks of its inhabitants. 

It is difficult not to become cynical, especially as the anxiety from running late reaches its peak.  At this moment, everyone would love to complain to the maintenance guys and ask them directly why on earth they cannot keep the elevators functioning properly when you have stuff to do. 

This is an outrage. But it is not actually the end of the world. If some vast conspiracy to render the elevators defunct right when we needed them most is uncovered, heads will roll. That seems unlikely. Slow or non-functioning elevators are an enormous inconvenience, no question.  When the inevitable elevator failure arrives, just look as it as an opportunity for extra exercise.  There is no avoiding it. Plan ahead 10-15 minutes if you know that an elevator is not working, but allow yourself an escape plan down the stairs just in case of an emergency.