Wilson Her said his heart dropped when he saw both of Sproul Hall’s elevators were broken after returning from a trip in early February.
He had 150 pounds of luggage and seven flights of stairs to climb in over 80 degree heat.
But there was no other option – so Her grabbed his bags, opened the door to the stairs and started walking.
And Her isn’t alone – Sproul Hall residents have alleged the building’s broken elevators, trash chutes and washing machines cause persistent issues for students.
“I walked up every half a floor, and just stopped and took a breather,” Her, a second-year neuroscience student, said. “It was so hot in that staircase too – the windows were open, but all it did was just feel really musty because everyone was coming up and down there.”
UCLA Housing said in an emailed statement that it is aware of the Sproul Hall maintenance disruptions, adding that it is working as quickly as possible to restore affected services. UCLA Housing added in the statement that it recognizes that the maintenance issues inconvenience students, and said it offers alternative arrangements when possible.
Her said the north elevator broke down during the week of Feb. 2. The south side’s elevator later went out of service on Feb. 5, and the north side’s elevator broke again on Feb. 8, Jericho Tran-Faypon, a front desk agent at Sproul Hall, said.
Tran-Faypon, a fourth-year anthropology student, said they believe Sproul Hall’s persistent problem with broken elevators creates accessibility issues for students with disabilities and injuries. Marco Matthias Cruz, a seventh-floor resident, added that the broken elevators forced him to climb seven flights of stairs after twisting his ankle, an injury obtained while running a marathon.
Mikaela Cruz, a resident assistant for Sproul Hall’s south seventh floor, said she had to climb seven floors after working a nine-hour shift because of broken elevators on Feb. 8 and 9. She added that she believes residents avoided doing their laundry while both elevators were broken.
“It’s really inconvenient, uncomfortable, especially if you pay so much for housing or rely on the elevators every day,” Nikita Motchenko, a resident assistant for Sproul Hall’s south third floor, said.
Elevators in Sproul Hall are often broken, said Samia Gambrah, a Sproul Hall resident. The university often takes weeks at a time to repair them, said Motchenko, a third-year physiological science student.
Functioning elevators can also take up to 15 minutes to arrive when one is broken, Her said. He added that he budgets an extra 30 minutes to wait, as it sometimes stops on every floor.
Mikaela Cruz, a third-year psychology student, said relying on one elevator also meant Sproul Hall custodians had to walk up and down the stairs to get supplies instead of taking their tool carts from floor to floor.
Her said he has found that nearly half of Sproul Hall’s 17 washing machines regularly do not work – and residents often wait 20 to 30 minutes at a time to access a working machine. Many of the broken machines do not have signs to warn students not to use them, he added.
“I have never seen all the (washing) machines operational,” Matthias Cruz said in a written statement.
Her said the south trash chute is locked or broken at least once a week. Motchenko added that trash chutes throughout the building were broken during the first two weeks of the quarter.
“There was no way to get rid of your trash besides just putting it in the lounge and making the cleaning people take it down,” Matthias Cruz, a first-year electrical engineering student, said. “That’s what they told us. But that also sucks, because there’s a bunch of trash in the lounge.”
Motchenko said he believes UCLA Housing did not communicate at all about the repair status of the elevators, adding that he was notified the trash chutes were repaired days after they were fixed.
Mikaela Cruz said she hopes UCLA Facilities Management offers more communication, clarity and support when it comes to Sproul Hall’s maintenance issues.
“We all have a right to know what’s going on,” Mikaela Cruz said.
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