Opinion - by Sam Zients on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 8:59 - 7 Comments
Silver Center is actually a Convention Center
This should have been obvious, but I completely forgot how ridiculously crowded the “campus” is during the school year. I took a full semester’s worth of classes this summer and I never even had to share an elevator in Silver with more then 2 other people, so to walk over to Washington Square today from my comfortably distant East Village studio and have to wait in line to enter the building was shocking, to say the least. Not only was it shocking, but confusing. People were slowly ambling in through the Washington Place entrance like they had just opened the doors to a free concert and everyone was trying to be polite, but really wanted to step on each other. Literally. Foot on top of head. Step on.
And I can’t imagine what the elevators are like. As an Art History major, most of my classes are on the 3rd floor - easily walkable. If I had to come and go from the 7th floor, I’m sure I would have to have left 20 minutes earlier than I did this morning. And you know there are the few odd freshmen who haven’t figured out “elevator etiquette” yet (it’s the first day, I understand) and take the elevator to the 4th floor, while the upperclassmen in the back of the elevator audibly sigh and grunt and burn holes into their backs with the most evil of stares. I feel for you guys, I do.
But I guess the thing I’m most confused about is that I don’t even remember it being this bad last year or the year before. Is there a secret freshman dorm hidden away somewhere housing another 2000 students? Is this year’s freshman class just the most stoked freshman class ever? Literally every student had to have emptied out of the dorms at the same exact moment and arrived at Silver Center at the exact same moment to create that much of a mob scene.
I don’t know. Did anyone else feel like it was ridiculously crowded today - more so than in the past - or am I suddenly coming down with a severe case of agoraphobia (not that agoraphobia is ever… mild)?
7 Comments
I have my first Silver class today at 4:55. I hope it’s late enough that Silver isn’t this ridiculous. It’s like, when the line is THAT long, my already-miniscule desire to actually go to class only diminishes more. On several occasions last year I woke up, got all ready, went to Silver, saw a mob scene, and promptly ditched class. This year I may not even do the waking up part.
(Kidding, mom and dad!)
Jennifer Michaels
it definitely seemed more crowded today. A girl came up to me in the elevator and said… does this go to floor 2? i stared at her in horror and said, “No, take the stairs.”… I can be so mean 
Allix Geneslaw
High five, Jennifer. The same horrifying incidence occurred yesterday in the elevator — a girl took the elevator to the second floor. Unfortunately, I lacked the testicles to say anything to her face but commented about her laziness/lack of elevator etiquette as soon as she left. Maybe it was the same person.
I was stunned today by the number of people lined up for the elevators. I walked to the 8th floor because I would have been 10 minutes late if I waited. Seems too busy. I think it’s just cause it’s early in the year. At least I hope..
Hannah Caporello
I’m so glad someone else noticed the insanity of this - I had class here this summer also, and am forever spoiled. By Thursday afternoon, I thought I was going to cry if I had to stand in another line! The shuttles are crowded beyond capacity, Silver is a pure nightmare, and I don’t think I’m going to be able to set foot on the 3rd floor of Kimmel for a few weeks at least after my experience at lunch on Wednesday. Personally, I’m banking on tons of people (maybe the alarmingly enthusiastic freshmen) skipping more and more classes over the next few weeks…
Rebecca Baird-Remba
I’m a freshman, and even I know that you don’t take the elevator to the second or third floor (I wanted to kill the person who did it while I was taking the elevator). I walked all the way up those awful stairs to my eighth floor class because the elevator lines were like thirty people long at 3:30 in the afternoon! I was in the same situation as you, Charlie - I would have been late if I’d waited for the elevator. Has it never been this bad before?
Leave a Reply
Still beats the throngs of sweaty kids in my high school hallways. But I don’t take NYU elevators; it’s worth it just to walk.
Anyway, the real mob scene is in the cloud of smoke outside Silver, no?