ELEVATOR EMERGENCIES

To the Editors of The Crimson:

I am writing to complain in the most vigorous and serious manner about the elevators in Holyoke Center. The incident which prompts this letter is as follows: At approximately 1:30 P.M. one day last week, the elevator in which I was riding became stuck between the sixth and seventh floors on the Mt. Auburn Street side (this was the right hand car, looking toward the elevators).

At 3 P.M., acting on verbal instructions from the outside engineers that had been called in, I pried open the doors and got out. These engineers informed me that they had been called approximately five to eight minutes before, and that no one had told them that there was anyone in the stuck elevator.

It is clear that the policies regarding elevators are utterly inadequate, and this in two respects: (1) The elevators in Holyoke Center are not kept in good working order; at least one of the six elevators breaks down every week, and to those of us who work in Holyoke Center the ringing of the alarm bells seems to be constant.

(2) There is no standing set of instructions regarding what the crew in the building should do when an elevator is reported stuck.

No attempt is made to communicate with those who may be in the elevator to (a) find out if there is anyone in it, (b) find out if they are all right, (c) assure them that the problem has been reported and help is on the way, or (d), incredibly, as would have been sufficient in my case, to relay simple verbal instructions on how to get out!

It is clear that this policy of not doing anything could cause severe physical and psychological problems to those affected under certain circumstances. It is also clear that the procedures for reporting stuck elevators are totally inadequate. This procedure depends on the good will of workers in the building who hear the bell and in their own good time call Buildings and Grounds.

How can a system be justified which permits an hour and twenty minutes to elapse before the call goes out to the engineers? How can a system be permitted to continue under which people stuck in elevators have to lean on the alarm bells for hours without ever being told that they have been heard?

The following needs to be done:

(1) The elevators in Holyoke Center must be put in working order. Those not in working order should not be in use.

(2) A plan to be followed in the event of an elevator emergency should be drafted.

(3) This plan should be circulated to all those working in the building, and those who work on the Buildings and Grounds crew in the building should be given explicit classroom instruction on what procedures are to be followed.

(4) Signs should be posted inside and outside all elevators saying: "Report all alarm bells between (working hours) to (phone number)."

All people who use Holyoke Center will thank you for your prompt attention to this very serious matter. R.H. Ives Goddard III   Assistant Professor of Linguistics