To all the people that live on the first and second floors of Northern View buildings, the third-floor residents would just like to say that we are completely jealous of y’all. I mean, whose idea was it to put four flights of stairs in a building full of college kids without an elevator? Is NIU really trying to say that we need to drop that freshman fifteen we gained?

It’s tough walking up all the stairs; I definitely feel the burn in my legs and the pain in my back. I know I’m not the only one who thinks that carrying up groceries is like carrying three 10-pound dumbbells up the stairs one at a time. It’s exhausting. It’s too much exercise if you ask me.

Walking up to the third floor of Northern View is something that residents dread the most. We come home from school and then have to do a whole leg workout just to get upstairs to our rooms. If I wanted to gain some quads, I would just go to the gym.  

As a student who receives financial aid from NIU, I would say that we pay way too much money for an elevator to not be inside our residence. I think I speak for most third-floor residents when I say, WE WANT JUSTICE FOR OUR LEGS! 

Senior sociology major Sirwalter Richardson says that having to live on the third floor comes with a lot of inconveniences. 

“I be walkin’ up them stairs and be mad ‘cause I be already tired and walkin’ up them stairs ain’t doin’ nothin’ but makin’ me even more tired than I already was. When I be walkin’ upstairs, sometimes I be havin’ to take a break and catch my breath. I got real bad asthma so yeah, I be pretty tired,” Richardson said. 

I couldn’t agree more with Richardson. Sometimes, I am ready to pack my bags and fly home. Maybe living on the third floor wouldn’t be so bad if I could actually fly up the stairs. 

Although the third-floor residents may feel like Northern View needs elevators, there are students who disagree with this. Nia Morin, a senior human development major, says that she is thankful to not have to do leg day every day as she lives on the first floor. “I like living in Northern View. I don’t mind being on the first floor. I don’t see why they would need an elevator anyway, it’s only three floors. Like, it’s never been that serious,” Morin said. 

That’s coming from someone who hasn’t walked up those stairs since the day she stepped foot into the community. Maybe we are a little lazy, but that’s OK with me. Let’s let the first-floor switch residents with the third floor and see how long it takes for their legs to start falling out of place. 

Maybe there are some perks of living on the third floor. When the first floor residents go to sleep, they hear two stories of feet above their heads every night. On the other hand, I wake up to the view of the entire community and the sun shines so bright, I can take the best selfies. Nope, although all of that sounds amazing, I’m still jealous of the first floor and second floor residents. I’ll be sure to stomp my feet extra loud tonight.