Kingston, RI—At the University of Rhode Island, there are fourteen residential halls for first-year students. Half of these do not have elevators. This includes: Adams Hall, Bressler Hall, Fayerweather Hall, Heathman Hall, Hutchinson Hall, Gorham Hall, and Tucker Hall.

While this might seem like just another detail about campus housing, it plays a much bigger role in the day-to-day lives of first-year students than some might expect.

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Butterfield Hall is indeed a first-year residential hall, with an elevator. However, up until nearly the end of the first semester of the 2025-26 school year, the elevators in Butterfield Hall shut down at six p.m. daily. This caused immediate confusion, as students assumed the elevator would be accessible at all hours, leaving them unsure if it was a technical issue, temporary policy, or intentional schedule by Housing and Residential Life (HRL).
 

When the elevator stopped operating after 6 P.M., basic tasks like doing laundry, taking out trash, or returning to dorm rooms became challenging. For some students, particularly those with injuries or accessibility needs, it created unnecessary stress.

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Chloe Polito, a first-year student at URI, shared her experience. The difficulties began on move-in day. A family vacation to Greece this past summer left her mother with four broken bones—two in her right ankle and two in her right knee—leaving her unable to walk and requiring a wheelchair, and eventually crutches. At the time, she was still using a wheelchair. Polito lives on the very top floor of Butterfield Hall, the fourth floor. Moving heavy items up to her room was arduous, she shares, “She [Polito’s mom] couldn’t use the stairs obviously, so we had to get one of the RA’s to use one of their cards to get her up on the elevator.”

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Navigating move-in day with her mother made the elevator issue feel more serious. Families struggled through stairwells crowded with boxes, mini-fridges, and fans. For Polito’s family, the elevator's limited hours were particularly noticeable.

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But the issue extended beyond move-in day. “I think that it is definitely a little bit weird because if someone has something like my mom who cannot use their legs, or trouble getting up stairs, and their room was assigned on the fourth floor or just even any floor that’s not the first floor, it seems that it would be a safety hazard.”

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According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards for Accessible Design, Title III, Regulation 28 CFR Part 36 (1991), an accessible route must be a continuous, unobstructed path connecting all accessible elements and spaces in a building. An elevator is considered an “interior accessible route,” essential for anyone who cannot use stairs.

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Polito also expressed frustrations about the laundry. The laundry room is located two floors below her room, and carrying heavy laundry bags up the stairs became exhausting. Polito added, “Sometimes during the day, I wouldn’t have time to do my laundry, especially because I’m on the fourth floor, and the laundry is on the second. It gets annoying. I don't want to carry all my laundry up.” For students on lower floors, the impact may have been minor, but these daily challenges certainly add up, and quickly.

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Some students were unsure why the elevator was being shut down. Polito was adamant about her confusion, “It did take a while for us to figure out what was going on [realizing the elevators shut down at 6 PM daily], and we didn’t know why the elevator was shut off.”

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According to Thomas Cooley, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Campus Living, his team verified over the weekend that the Butterfield elevator is now programmed to operate 24/7 for all students.

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Cooley elaborated, “I was told it was fixed on Friday [December 5th] of last week. HRL learned of the issue on 12/1 from a capital project team member, who was speaking with a student and shared the concern then.”

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Coincidentally, Polito was interviewed earlier that same day the elevator was reportedly fixed, before Cooley shared this in his email response. It emphasized how minor logistical issues can create outsized challenges for residents, particularly those with accessibility needs.

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Ultimately, this raises questions about URI’s management of first-year housing and accessibility. For Polito and others, the fix is a relief but also highlights the importance of consistent, accessible housing services. Even a temporary shutdown affected move-in, laundry, and basic daily routines. For students like Polito, who rely on elevators due to family or personal mobility issues, such interruptions can quickly become significant sources of stress. The experience underscores the importance of clear communication from HRL whenever changes to facility access occur.