Broken Elevators In Brawley Hall, Across Campus Leave Students Frustrated
- Daniel Mitchell
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Elevators have malfunctioned for multiple days and weeks at a time, and one student says the school should prioritize safety over aesthetics.
On Wednesday, February 4, at 12:53 p.m., residents of Clark Atlanta University’s Brawley Hall received a GroupMe text alert delivering the latest blow to their campus living conditions: The building's elevators would be out of service until further notice. The breakdown marks a boiling point for students at the on-campus dormitory, who have lodged a string of complaints over broken facilities and persistent maintenance failures.
Over the past month elevators all over campus including but not limited to the Student Center, T. Cole, and Carl and Mary Ware have malfunctioned for multiple days to weeks at a time.
The Panther Newspaper has been trying to get in contact with the facilities manager, Tony Ring, whose focus is specifically on the elevators. Ring has acknowledged in person receiving the emails and calls but didn’t have time to comment. Future attempts to reach Ring for comment have gone unanswered.
Promise Albert, a sophomore dual degree engineering and computer science major, and resident of Brawley Hall, agreed to sit with The Panther to discuss the challenges and resolutions.
Q: Can you take me back to the last time that the RA sent the message saying that all the elevators weren't working?
A: Basically, when I found out the elevators weren't working, it was really just like, oh, again. I don't like it. It's irritating to say the least, because, especially when I'm on the fourth floor. But it's also the fact that I keep getting upset when it happens so often.
Q: What are your feelings towards the elevators themselves? Do you recall the number of times the elevators were broken this semester alone?
A: This semester alone, I think I recall maybe 10-plus times already. It doesn’t matter if it's been broken for an hour or a couple days, there's always something wrong. We have four elevators [in Brawley], and only one is continuously working. It does seem like [the elevators] are outdated, and they could malfunction at any point in time. They're really rickety when they're going up and down. Sometimes the panel is detached for a little bit, off the corner. It just looks really unsafe, the building doesn't match the elevator, or the elevator doesn't match the building, I should say.
Q: What are your feelings towards the maintenance staff that works on elevators and all the other issues in Brawley?
A: I have something against lack of maintenance, in terms of how many people are supposed to be working, especially in a four floor building. So far, I've only seen one guy. And I don't know if there's other people that are supposed to be working, but I've only seen one guy come back to keep on fixing things that are around the building.
Q: What, in your opinion, are some ways that they could resolve this?
A: I think it's actually the school that needs to resolve it, because I do find, time and time again that Residence Life often tries to find solutions, but it has to go through some sort of chain of command, and it's almost like the school is the main thing they go to. And we're always, I guess, getting denied because nothing's getting done. But if I wanted a solution, I guess the school has to be more open to spending the money for our safety. I feel like the money that is spent is going towards aesthetics instead of services.
Q: Do you have any contacts in Brawley, like the building manager, or have you been in contact with them?
A: No, I don't know any of their contact information, and I probably wouldn't be able to ask, because, again, nobody communicates the way that they're supposed to.
Q: In your experience here in Brawley, what are some of the ways that the RA's need to step up in communication with all the maintenance requests that's been going on, the complaints that have been filed for Brawley specifically?
A: I think the RA's—not saying all of them—but I do think that some of their values are not in the right place, and they may be doing things for benefits and not for the students themselves, but that's my personal opinion. I think in terms of communication, whatever is said in the main group chat with all the floors should be reiterated towards the floor group chats. Also, if they see maintenance or hear from maintenance in terms of schedules, they could reiterate that as well.
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