We all know that the elevators throughout The New School are often a point of contention — why are they so small? Why are they so slow? Why are there lines to get into the elevator itself? It truly is an anomaly to me at times. The Parsons elevators are significantly smaller than the ones at Lang, although the Parsons students likely have more supplies and art materials to carry. During class rush hours, the elevators are slow to arrive and slow to move. By the time they reach their destination, it is nearly impossible to cram your way inside and you may end up stopping on every single floor. By the end of the ride, many of us are usually late to class.
The elevators of The New School can be tricky to maneuver, and you’ve got to be one step ahead by knowing exactly what you’re dealing with. Since certain elevators don’t stop on every floor — hello 16th St. building — you have to factor in taking the stairs to get to your desired destination, which means another five to 10 minutes. In my personal experience, the elevators come about every 3 minutes, unless they happen to be up at the 10th floor. In that case, they take a much longer time to get back down to the first floor after dropping off and picking up students along the way.
The elevators at the 16th St. building definitely take some thought-out planning. First, there is a line to get into the elevators, which really caught me off guard the first time I had class there. I was expecting to be able to run right up to the front and sneakily cram my way into one of the elevators. That was not the case. When you walk into the building, you are instantly met with an anxiety-building long line contained between two black ropes that make you feel like you are at the airport. They are especially busy around major class times such as 10 a.m., 12:10 p.m., and 3:50 p.m. At these hours, the elevators are absolutely out of control. They pile up with students, jam-packed in line, eager and waiting to get to their classes on time. One girl even asked if she could take the stairs up seven flights, but the security guard told her that no one was allowed use the stairs. Another security guard on duty explained to me that the business companies renting offices in the building don’t want stampedes of students running frantically throughout the stairwells. The stairs are meant to be used in case of emergency, and can only be accessed from the inside out — meaning once you’re already on your desired floor going downstairs. If you want to be certain that you will get to class on time, you’ve got to get there at least 10 to 15 minutes before class starts or you’ll get caught up in these daunting lines.
The Parsons elevators are also pretty confusing. Only specific elevators go to certain floors and locations and it’s hard to keep track. For example, trying to find my way to Gimbel library I asked about four different people where to find the correct elevator to get there. It was located around the corner past the first set of elevators that I initially thought were the right ones. Most students only know how to navigate the elevators in their buildings where they have class. Learning to master all the elevators of The New School would be a true feat — one that I certainly hope to triumph.
The way to get around in The New School is to identify which elevators are the best — meaning the least busy and the most spacious. Your best bet as an elevator user of The New School is to use the Lang elevators at 12th St. and the ones at Arnold Hall. They’re both pretty reliable, running fairly quickly and big in size so most people can fit into the elevator once it arrives. And on the other spectrum, be mindful and set aside some extra time for the slow running, sardine-packed elevators of the Parsons 13th St. building, and of course the notorious 16th St. building. The elevators of The New School will forever be much talked about, but for now let’s just hope that we catch the right elevators to make it on time to class.
Sienna is currently a Literary Studies major at Lang with a minor in Culture & Media. She enjoys music writing, cultural features, creative non fiction and poetry. She has future plans of working in publications, making electronic music in her spare time and living a funky fresh lifestyle.
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