Sarah Harty has a bone to pick with this so-called “Walkable Skylight.”

The Millicent Carey McIntosh Terrace is already a chaotic AF place to be. Diana and Altschul, two heavily-trafficked buildings, stand right opposite each other, paying no mind to people’s class start times. The stairway leading to Milbank always has people a) going the wrong way, b) just standing and blocking people’s paths, or c) all of the above. But the true chaos lies hidden below.

A full 25% of Barnard’s campus lies on the basement level of its buildings (idk if that’s actually true, but it sounds like it). WBAR, Hewitt Dining Hall, the Diana Oval, the Glicker-Milstein Theatre – all of these are underground. So is the tunnel system, which is amazing. What’s not so amazing is the fucking death risk that comes with using it. Someone c. 2010 had the brilliant idea to put glass panels in the Millicent Carey McIntosh Terrace, and I swear they will rue the day they did.

According to Bellwether Design Technologies, who are responsible for building these, um, “Walkable Skylights,” they are a “great way to provide light and blend outdoor with interior design elements.”  They are also “designed for energy performance, using insulated glass…for point load support of pedestrians. Exterior walking surfaces incorporate a non-skid frit for safety.” I don’t know what a “frit” is, but I can tell you there’s no way these things are completely safe.

It’s been an unusually rainy and cold May, and just like Tati Westbrook exposed James Charles, the weather has aired out all of Barnard’s structural weaknesses. When I was walking to Diana from Milstein this weekend, I counted no fewer than nine buckets catching leaks from the skylight. When I walked back to the library, water was literally pouring from the ceiling like Barnard’s own version of the penis fountains. Dear Barnard, please fix this.

Signed,

A Student Who Risks Her Life (And Dry Clothes) On The Daily While Walking To Class

Danger lies beneath via Bwog Archives.