As she was going down, all the lights in the elevator went off and were soon replaced by an emergency light. She checked her phone, hoping to call for help, when she realized she had no service.

“I couldn’t call anyone for help, and the emergency phone in the elevator wasn’t working for me,” Howes said. “I’m trying to pry the doors open to get out or get someone’s attention better and I cut my hand on the sharp metal edge.”

Howes began pressing as many buttons as she could, hoping one of them would call for help. When none of them worked, she continued to look around the elevator, eventually noticing a phone box off to the side. Repeating affirmations of safety to herself, she picked up the phone.

Howes said it felt like she was calling customer service, being greeted by an automatic voice saying, “Your call is important to us, we’re going to connect you to the available dispatcher.”

Realizing her salvation was up to her, Howes successfully pried open the first of the doors and could see into the elevator shaft. She could tell she had just passed the second floor; if she could open the second set of doors, she could get someone’s attention, or she could attempt to fully get out.

As she was prying open the doors, she sliced her hand from her thumb to her wrist. It was not until five or 10 minutes later that she realized how much her hand was bleeding and reached into her backpack for tissues. She continued to yell for help; this time, a passing group of three students finally heard her. They alerted library staff and called EMS.

Once finally freed from the elevator, EMS asked if she was hurt. Still in a state of shock, Howes assumed they meant something more serious than her hand, so she told them no.

“I don’t know why,” Howes said. “I had a big cut on my hand and I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m afraid.’”

Meanwhile, pre-nursing freshman Raquel Wortel and her roommate had just returned to their dorm on the 6th floor of Holden from a morning of shopping when they decided they should take out their trash.

“We got to about the second floor before the elevator shook and the lights turned off,” Wortel said. “I started pressing the ring button to alert people and I called the emergency line but they didn’t answer.”

Wortel was both terrified and angry. She had spotty phone service, going back and forth between calling her mom, the front desk and the police.

“I was obviously scared, and I was just thinking about the elevator falling because at this time I didn’t know what floor we were on,” said Wortel. “Like I didn’t want to move around.”

Eventually, outsiders heard the two banging on the door and came to help. They informed them that the power had gone out and decided to stay with them while they called and waited for help, which took about another 30 minutes. The others stayed and waited, grabbing an RA to help relax them. Upon being freed, Wortel and her roommate laughed at the absurdity of the situation.

In a press conference to provide an update on campus restoration following the nearly seven-hour power outage, MSU’s Chief of Police and Executive Director of Public Safety Mike Yankowski said they received approximately 19 calls for service from students stuck in various elevators across campus.

Yankowski said they worked closely with the East Lansing fire department to get to those calls quickly, and that he is “pleased” to announce there were no reported injuries.

Howes’ and Wortel’s stories are just two of approximately 19 from that night, something that will be a staple memory of their freshman year. And a reason, Howes said, she will be taking the stairs for the foreseeable future.