By Sophia Harris Editor-in-Chief By Dylan Pichnarcik News Editor By Bella Grimaldi Asst. News Editor On Feb. 11 at approximately 3 p.m. Professor Jennifer Dowling became trapped in the May Hall elevator for about 30 minutes. She said she was on her way to the fourth floor and the elevator stopped but the doors did not open. She said she then pushed the button a few times to open the doors, but nothing happened. “I tried other floors and still nothing, so I pressed the red run lever and the elevator started going down. It stopped but I wasn't sure which floor it was, so I called out ‘Hello?’ and one of the maintainers heard me and said they would get help,” Dowling said. She said after speaking to the maintainer, she used the emergency phone to call campus police and they said they were going to send an officer to May Hall. She said the elevator then moved to a lower floor and the door cracked open and she was able to speak to a Framingham State police officer. She said the officer asked if she was OK. “He showed concern about my well-being and whether I had claustrophobia or breathing issues,” she said. Dowling said the officer then called the Framingham Fire Department. “I asked if they would be able to get me out and they said they could do that, which helped ease my mind,” she said. Dowling said the Officer told her the fire department was going to reset the elevator and to be “prepared for a slight jolt.” The elevator then went to the ground floor and when the doors opened, two fire officials asked how she was feeling. “They were patient and helpful under the circumstances,” Dowling said. She added, “However, being trapped for almost 30 minutes without knowing the cause or why it was happening is not acceptable.” Framingham Fire Department Captain Guilherme Barroso, who was called to the scene when the elevator malfunctioned, said it is common for elevators to break down. He said in order to fix the elevator, they had to reset the elevator breaker. Dowling said the elevator was “supposedly in working order” when she left and people were using it. She said the following day, it broke down again and there were no signs posted to notify people. Dowling said she was asked to switch classrooms with a professor for her afternoon class in the library because she had students who needed an elevator to come to hers in May Hall. The following day at 3:09 p.m., Meg Nowak-Borrego sent an email notifying students that the Whittemore Library elevator was out of service for the remainder of Feb. 12, and the morning of Feb. 13th. “Ironically, the library elevator broke in the afternoon and those particular students weren't able to attend class there, either,” Dowling said. “I have taught at Framingham State for a long time and certain elevators have been unpredictable for many years. As a result, I typically take the stairs, but it is challenging when I have a lot to carry,” she added. “The May Hall elevator needs to be reliable due to the numerous students, faculty, and staff who use it daily,” Dowling said. The unreliability of the May Hall elevator was documented by a series of emails sent out by Nowak-Borrego notifying students, faculty, and staff of its condition. Starting on Monday at 12:43 p.m. the elevator was out of service, then back up and running at 3:49 p.m. On Tuesday, the elevator was out of service from 3:21 p.m. to 4:05 p.m. On Wednesday, the elevator went out of service at 10:09 a.m. and is currently still out of service. Dowling said it is “especially problematic to have it break so often when individuals with health issues have no choice but to walk up flights of stairs. In some cases, this is not possible, so they are unable to attend class.” She said, “At a bare minimum, all elevators on campus need to be in working order each day.” She added that if the only option in some buildings is to use the stairs, “It is not equitable for members of the University community who have physical disabilities or limitations who rely on an elevator … to access buildings and classrooms.” Daniel Giard, director of facilities, said the elevator was installed in 1981. He said the May Hall elevator is the oldest elevator on campus, “so it is slated to have some work done to it.” He added the elevator maintenance company is currently working to repair the elevator. Freshman Keira Fecteau said the only problem she has with the elevators “is that they like to shut down when I'm inside of them.” She added, “I was in class in the library yesterday, which was a Wednesday, and I was coming from class to go meet one of my friends for lunch, and unfortunately, I believe we got stuck in between the floors LM and 1 of the library, and we were stuck there for at least a good 30 minutes before we were able to get the door open.” She said this resulted in her being late for class. Freshman Edgar Santana Baez said the elevators are “a little spooky. “Sometimes they do silly things,” he added. Sophomore Diego Abzun said he needs to use the elevators every day. As a wheelchair user, he is “worried about them not functioning. “I use them every single day to get to my classes and to get to the dining hall,” he said. Freshman Vincent Gauthier said the elevator in May Hall breaking down was “a little inconvenient” because it caused classrooms to switch around. Freshman Savannah Goba said she used the elevators every day for the first semester of classes while on crutches. She said, “Some of them were a lot more scary than others.”