Due to old age, three of the elevators in Stevenson Towers A, B and C are under repair.

Ed O’Donnell, building maintenance superintendent of the physical plant, said the generators in the elevators are being repaired. O’Donnell said he does not attribute the damage to student abuse.

James Rooney, area coordinator for the Stevenson complex, said one of the elevators in the B tower has been out of service since January.

He said he understands students’ frustrations with having to take the stairs to their rooms, and said he hopes the elevator will be fixed in two weeks.

Larry Robertson, Grant South associate director, said when students first find out an elevator is down, they are usually upset.

However, he said, “The students are understanding more and have developed, and (residents) think about things critically and they have a better understanding about the situation. They are thinking more of their safety than convenience.”

Stevenson resident, Suzanne Fields said, “It is a real nuisance if you live on the 12th floor.”

The average life expectancy of an elevator generator is 15 years and those in the towers have been in operation for 25 years, O’Donnell said. The elevators are just “worn out”, he said.

O’Donnell relates the wearing out of the generators to an old car. He said when a car has been driven for 150,000 miles it becomes worn out. The car would need to be repaired in order to continue operating properly, he said.

The generators in need of repair have to be disassembled and sent to Chicago to be repaired, O‘ Donnell said. The repairs are done by contractors who are chosen by submitting the lowest bid. He said each generator will take between 10 days and two weeks to repair.

O’Donnell said some of the repair companies that usually submit bids include Mid-American, Universal and Montgomery and Millar.

O’Donnell said he hopes to get funds for fiscal year 1990 to repair the north and south elevator generators in Stevenson Tower D.

“The Stevenson’s south A tower is almost back in service,” O’Donnell said. Some rewiring needs to be finished before the elevator will be operative, he said, adding that he gets a complete progress update on the repairs every week.

Rooney said the Stevenson elevators might have extensive work done over the summer to make the elevators more vandal-proof.