Written by: Zachary Worstell (zdw001@marietta.edu)
The Mills Hall Hill stairs are gone. One of the most popular routes connecting upperclassmen housing to the rest of campus is temporarily inaccessible. On October 6th, Randy Hesson, the Physical Plant director, announced that the stairs connecting Harisson Hall to Mills would be demolished as they go under reparation. This construction is projected to span 4-6 weeks pending weather conditions. Hence, students need to seek an alternative route.
Mills Hall Elevator
One of the most direct alternative routes that Apple Maps may likely take you would be the Mills Hall Elevator route. Simply enter Mills Hall through the ground floor and take the elevator to the first floor to be transported to the top of the hill. Or if your class is in Mills Hall, take the elevator all the way to your desire. However, this route does not account for some traffic jams.
“That elevator is always slow and way too small for the crowd walking to their 9:00 a.m. classes,” senior Miles Downs stated, “Plus I’m like 96% sure its haunted.”
Hence, when leaving your dorm in a rush, the Mills Hall Elevator may not be the way to go. Fortunately, there are some other quick and easy routes.
Dyson-Baudo Recreation Center Stairs
This route is a staple for those living on fourth street making their way towards PitStop. For those that live in McCoy this route may be more useful, as for the Harrisson students they must take a detour to McCoy. Once at McCoy simply cross the bridge and take the giant spiral staircase to the first floor of the DBRC. A benefit of this route is it takes you directly towards the center of campus, closer to the mall than the Mills Hall stairs ever did.
“I really don’t feel like walking that far, I’d rather just walk up the Hill,” said junior Summer Miller.
The Hill
Who needs stairs anyway? There’s grass there so why not? This route is quick and has the same time of arrival and distance as the Mills Hall stairs. Hence, it’s basically the same. However, this route has its downfalls. Such as unpredictable conditions. Maybe one day they’ll be too many construction machines to walk past, or the rain will make the grassy hill slippery. Or worse? Snow. While this route may seem like the obvious and easiest choice to not have to go out of your way, a new innovative route may be beneficial.
Drive
Become a commuter, drive to class. If you manage to get parking in the Harrisson-McCoy parking lot, walk to your car and drive to whichever class you’re at. However, you rightfully may be concerned about finding parking near your class, as Putnam Street, Mills Parking, and Fourth Street fill up quickly. When this occurs, you have one of two options. Either sleep in your car in a parking spot closest to your 8:00 a.m. or drive up the Mills Hall Hill and park right outside your class. MCPD, Physical Plant, and Smitty’s drive on the Christy Mall all the time. So why can’t you?
Tunnel
Rumor has it some students have been taking a hidden tunnel inside the hill itself. It is said that this tunnel goes directly through the hill and takes the traveler to the McDonough Leadership Building. However, the passage is hidden with access to it being kept to an exclusive few students. If you are one of the lucky few to find this passage, you are greeted to a weather friendly option to get straight to the mall.
Sophomore Austin Martin stated, “I heard that you have to pay a toll to access the tunnel and apparently they don’t take meal swipes.”
Teleportation
A second rumored route is that there is a hidden teleportation device on campus. It is said that the teleportation device was left behind by a graduate student and is held on either the 6th floor of Mills Hall or the random patio outside the second floor of Harrisson Hall. While little information is known of how the teleportation device works or what it looks like, if found it could be the best alternative route in this time of crisis.
