Expired permits elevate student fears

Anica McKesey had to hike up three flights of stairs to get to
her job in Kerckhoff Hall on Wednesday.

The elevator that usually takes McKesey to her office for the
African Student Union is closed for maintenance until Jan. 13.

McKesey is not alone in her troubles with on-campus
elevators.

From the Mathematical Sciences building to MacGowan Hall to the
dorms, students and faculty often encounter broken elevators. Many
more have expired permits.

“It’s a large concern that most of the time the
permits don’t meet certain regulations. It does affect the
students,” McKesey said.

All elevators in the state are required to undergo an annual
inspection under Section 7302 of the California Labor Code.
Elevators are allowed to run as long as a request had been
submitted to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health and
“not acted upon.”

This means that as long as the elevators are inspected and
maintained by the in-house maintenance facilities, the permits are
still valid.

Nonetheless, many students are concerned.

Jessica Cabalza, a fourth-year communications student, was
alarmed by the expired permits she saw in Hershey Hall. One
elevator permit in Hershey expired in September.

Cabalza said she contacted Facilities Management to report the
permit had expired.

Cabalza said she was told it was the inspector’s
responsibility to order an evaluation.

“I still think that Facilities Management should take the
initiative and request new permits themselves, for the
students’ sake,” she said.

Jeff Cornell, a senior elevator supervisor who oversees elevator
maintenance on campus, said delays are common and that though the
permits displayed have expired, the elevators are maintained and
inspected every month by his office.

He said even elevators with expired permits are safe.

Cornell added that the request for elevator inspections in the
Medical Plaza had been filed and submitted to the DOSH in
September.

But expired permits exist all over campus.

Elevator permits in Young Hall expired Aug. 2001, while elevator
permits in Kinsey and Royce Halls have also expired. The permits in
Powell Library will expire in January.

Students also run into trouble with elevators on the Hill. The
elevator permits in Rieber Hall expired in September, and permits
in Hedrick Hall ran out in August. The permits in the other
high-rises and suites are set to expire in January or February.

Students said they have experienced problems in every building.
Amanda Abramson, a first-year undeclared student who lives in De
Neve Plaza, said “(De Neve) is a new building but the
elevators still breakdown all the time.”

These elevator malfunctions can cause more than a waste of time
or frustration.

“Some people would try to force the doors open or climb
through the shaft if they didn’t want to take the stairs to
the sixth or seven floors,” said Nicole Neclario, who used to
live in Hedrick Hall. “It seemed really dangerous.”

Facilities Management is in charge of all of the elevators on
campus, excluding residence halls.

Residential hall elevators are contracted out to private
businesses.

The Housing Administration could not be reached for comment for
this story.