For nearly a month now, a piece of paper scotch taped to the elevator doors in the atrium prints out the words “Out of Service.”

According to Assistant Head of School Hal Mason, the elevator is closed because school staff are waiting for the arrival of a part that needs to be replaced. The closure of this elevator makes it harder for students who can’t use stairs to get around the school, often forcing them to take longer, roundabout routes to class.

Junior Nex Thompson has an elevator pass because they tore two ligaments in their ankle and has since struggled to climb steps.

“Closed elevators have caused me to be late to classes before,” Thompson said. “When elevators are closed, I have to go out of my way to find an available one.”

According to Mason, the missing piece was expected to arrive and the repair was supposed to be made on Monday, Nov. 6. As of Wednesday, Nov. 8, the elevator was still closed.

“The elevator is safe,” Mason said. “The issue is that the balancing mechanism is not working properly and we had several instances where the elevator doors did not open for over five minutes. The doors will not open until the elevator believes it is at the precise location of the floor, an important safety feature.”

Dean of Students Summer Williams said the elevator in the atrium wasn’t the only one that was closed this month. The elevator in the STEM Commons was closed for less than a week because of student behavior in the elevator, which caused a malfunction.

“Elevators are sensitive pieces of machinery that people are super, super reliant on,” Williams said. “So, if you don’t need to be in that elevator, why would you take the risk of damaging something that somebody actually needs to use?”

Thompson agreed with Williams and said students who do not need to use the elevator shouldn’t use the elevator.

“I would appreciate it if kids who don’t have elevator passes didn’t use the elevators,” Thompson said. “That way we can make sure they don’t break again.”