Students and residents of the Murphy Apartments have been recently affected by the shutdown  of the elevator in the parking garage. For more than two weeks, residents have been unable to use the elevator after it was out of service for reasons unknown. Elevators in , not only, the Murphy Apartments, but also in residence halls and buildings,  have been broken for some time this school year. 

The prolonged shutdown of the Murphy Garage elevator has made it extremely hard for residents to navigate the Murphy Apartments, putting students with disabilities at a disadvantage.

Residents of the Murphy Apartments are becoming increasingly concerned. Alex Jenson, a fourth-year biology major, expressed the inconveniences associated with inaccessibility to elevators nearby.  

The issue reveals inconvenient and frustrating realities for residents and significant challenges for disabled residents hoping to reach their apartments.

Anneliese Stahly-Dronkowski, a third-year history and women, gender & sexuality studies major, emphasized that the neglect from the university to fix elevators is a serious issue. 

“I could see for people with disabilities or people who have trouble with stairs that it would not be a great thing to have the elevator out of commission,” Stahly-Dronkowski said. 

Residents are hoping that the elevator will be fixed in the upcoming weeks and will continue to be functional for the duration of the year. 

In addition to the broken elevator negatively affecting students, residents are upset that their tuition money is not being used to fix the elevators and that they are unable to benefit from the amenities that they pay for. 

Fourth-year Computer Science Major, Sebbie Law discussed his frustration regarding the tuition increase and the lack of repairs being made toward  this issue.

“It’s a bit frustrating, just the amount of money we pay to stay here and then have the elevator be unable to work for such a long time,” Law said. 

Residents are hopeful that this issue will be resolved in the remainder of the quarter. 

Students will continue to use the staircases that lead from the garage to the apartments and patiently wait for the elevator repairs.