By EMMA LAUS
The wide staircase leading up to the science center is a point of intrigue on campus. Sometime during my freshman year, I heard they were designed in order to help people run away from attackers. This claim doesn’t really make much sense when you really think about it, but I never heard another explanation so I didn’t look into it. However, I feel as though the time has come to get to the bottom of this mystery.
To investigate this matter, I contacted my friend, R.F. Baudhuin, a scholar on the subject. Baudhuin had attempted to answer this question months earlier, and with intensive questioning, she opened up about her findings. “When my professor learned that I was pursuing this case, he feigned ignorance,” Baudhuin told me. “He eventually said he knew the contractor who had created the stairs, and he could get me in touch, but the contractor said he had heard nothing about the allegations. I searched for an hour for a plaque explaining the backstory of the stairs, which I was certain I had seen before. But there was nothing except grass and dead leaves. I felt like I was crazy, or making this all up. I brushed myself off and decided to take on another case.”
This dead end was disappointing, but like Baudhuin, I brushed myself off and decided to consult the ultimate resource: legitimate online forums. It was here that I found my answer. Sources on Reddit and similarly credible platforms concur that the design was intended for crowd control, to slow down groups of people in case of large crowds or an emergency. When I returned to Baudhuin with my findings, she fell to the floor in disbelief.
So there you have it. Crowd control—I should have known.
Featured image: Emma Laus’27
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