By Evelyn Limberg, Guest Writer
A sign reading “We’re working on addressing the issue” has remained on a broken Justice Hall elevator for weeks, but students say they have seen little indication that the problem is being resolved.
Since move-in, residents of Justice Hall have dealt with repeated elevator breakdowns, leaving them with one primary working elevator for more than 350 students. Although alternative elevators are available on the Smith Hall side of Justice, tensions are growing over the lack of attention to the issue.
The frustration extends beyond the elevator to Xavier’s handling of maintenance requests in general. Although the elevator has been out of service for nearly three weeks, Physical Plant has responded to many other calls in Justice Hall and the surrounding buildings. Recently, maintenance requests have involved broken exit signs. Over 30 incident reports have been filled since school started, and all have been resolved.
One of Justice Hall’s two ground-floor elevators has remained out of service for nearly a month, leaving students to wonder when it will be fixed.
With little to no information on when the elevator will be back in service, Resident Assistants (RA) have expressed their frustration with maintenance.
“As an RA who is aware of the use of the elevator by so many of our students, I find it truly tragic that students who may be in need of an elevator in a timely manner will not have access to it, and it can be quite frightening and troublesome,” junior nursing major and RA Isaac Visser said.
Caution tape blocked off the first-floor elevator for around a week, and its removal sparked hope in students, but the elevator remains stationary. Additionally, signs remain posted on the other floors.
“We talked to the plant yesterday,” junior exercise science major and Senior RA Yanis Bengana said. “They’re missing multiple parts, and elevator technicians are so expensive,” Bengana said when asked why the elevator has yet to be fixed. He further explained that the elevator being broken has been worrying him, as it could potentially delay medical aid and result in further harm for students involved if there were an emergency.
As Justice Hall hits practically a month with an elevator out of commission, residents can only hope that this matter will be resolved before move-out, or they may be forced to carry all their belongings down the stairs.