Charlotte Catholic’s Escalating Issue Solved

Throughout the 2023-2024 school year, tired complaints of stairs being too tall have drifted through the halls before school and between classes. Freshmen, not used to the steep ascent, stumble about the third floor grumbling about the arduous climb to the top, while those with classes in the Fine Arts Center are forced to trudge up potentially four sets of stairs to reach their next class. 

Fortunately for these complainers, administration heard their groaning and created a solution. Over the summer, escalators will be installed to replace the stairwells at the front and back of the building, as well as the two in the Fine Arts Center. The school has hired Magnolia Construction to install these new escalators over the course of four and a half months. The stairwells in the main building will be replaced first and the Fine Arts Center stairwells will be replaced at a later date.

As a result of the long estimated construction time, the Fine Arts Center will be closed for the first few weeks of the 2024-2025 school year. All classes usually taken in the Fine Arts Center will instead be held outside, either on the football field, in the parking deck, or in the courtyard. 

The model of escalator being installed is the Tugela, designed by ThyssenKrupp Elevators. This model is designed to handle high traffic areas and has been engineered with safety features that will keep students out of harm’s way. For example, the Tugela has a skirt monitoring system, which will detect if an object gets caught in the sides and promptly stop the escalator. The Tugela runs at an average speed of 45 miles per hour, so it’s sure to clear up traffic on the main stairwells and get students to class on time.

To ensure students are not clowning around on the escalators and putting others in danger, a safety measure will be put in place. At the beginning of the year, all student IDs will have a star on them denoting if the student is allowed to use the escalators. If a student is caught roughhousing other students on the escalators or is tardy to a number of classes, their escalator privilege will be revoked, and they will be forced to use the side stairwells in the corners of the main building.

Administration would like to remind students any horseplay on the escalators will not be tolerated. Blacklisted students found using the escalators will face a multitude of punishments, with repeat offenses leading to harsher consequences. These include: detention, writing lines, cleaning the escalators, and in school suspension. Students should be sure to take advantage of this new amenity next year and not ruin the opportunity for themselves by buffoning around on the escalators. 

As one last tidbit of information about next year's renovations, administration has decided to name the escalators. For the main building, the chapel stairwell will be known as Lazarus, and the cafeteria stairwell will be called Alexius, after St. Alexius, who lived under a stairwell. The close stairwell in the Fine Arts Center will be named Servatius, after St. Servatius, the Patron saint of foot and leg ailments. The far side stairwell will be named Antony, after St. Antony, the patron saint of forgotten things.

Photo Credit: Medium