Last week, there was an argument in Goen, the female residence hall, over the use of the elevators. The conflict was between the girls living on the fifth and second floors.

The young ladies residing on fifth floor were aggravated at their peers on second floor for using the elevator. After being told to not use the elevator, the students on second floor did not follow what they were told, intentionally taking the elevator and claiming they wanted to start a “revolution” on the use of the elevator. Instead of addressing their respected residence life staff member with the problem, the girls on second and fifth floors took matters into their own hands, which resulted in a needless feud.

So, what were each floor’s arguments?

Fifth floor argues that because the elevator is constantly in use, they are late for class if they try to take it. It takes around 3-5 minutes to walk from Goen to Hooper Academic Building. In some cases, a person can spend this same amount of time waiting for the elevator, causing them to be tardy.The ladies on second floor claim they have a right to use the elevator and should not be told they can’t.

So, what are the problems I have with each side’s approach?

For 5th floor, I can understand the aggravation with always having to wait extended lengths to use the elevator. They do have the right to use the elevator. They do not have a right to tell others they cannot. This was a selfish act that should have been handled by addressing a residence assistant or a hall director.

Second floor committed the same error in their handling of the situation. Stating that they were going to start a “revolution” shows the immaturity they took in the argument. Instead of fighting fire with fire, the girls should have remained silent, rode the elevator, and addressed Res Life if the issues continued.

There is fault from both sides, but who is in the right?

The girls on 5th floor have no right in determining who should and should not be able to use the elevator. I believe second floor has the right to use the elevator, but they should not have fought this battle with fifth themselves. The girls on second floor should take the stairs sometimes to be considerate of their classmates on fifth so they will not have to walk down ten flights of stairs every time they need to get from one area to another.

MSMS students should have more respect for themselves and their fellow classmates. It was disappointing to hear of such arguments going on over something that could easily be solved. This problem will have to be solved, especially with the number of students expected to attend the school next year.