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The spirit of the climb and dodging Security

Going under: Oberlin's tunnels don't live up to their legends


The spirit of the climb and dodging Security

by Sara Foss and Nachie Castro

There is one building that they will not climb.

"Cox is where all the important people are," a college junior who wished to remain anonymous said, explaining why he and the two friends he often climbs with have never attempted to ascend the building which houses the offices of the president and dean of the College. "It seems a little risky," the junior continued. "Maybe they don't alarm Cox - it's just a risk we don't want to fuck with."

But the trio has tackled many of the other major buildings on campus. Among the most experienced of Oberlin's dedicated band of climbing enthusiasts, their conquests include Kettering, Mudd, Wilder, King, the Conservatory and Jones Field House.

The junior speculated that the number of people who climb at Oberlin is relatively small, though another college junior who wished to remain anonymous said he knows a lot of people who climb - though not necessarily to the rooftops.

"I have no interest in getting to the top. . . . The climb is what I'm interested in, just the movement," the second junior said. Though he has only been to the roof of King, the second junior has scaled partly up the sides of many buildings, including Harkness, Wilder, Mudd and Peters Hall. All his climbing is done without climbing gear.

The second junior's passion for climbing buildings stems partly from the lack of available rock climbing opportunities in Oberlin. "If we had a climbing wall," he said, "I wouldn't climb buildings."

One of the first junior's climbing companions, a sophomore who wished to remain anonymous, is also a rock climber who, at Oberlin, has found himself in a rockless environment. "I like rock climbing," he said. "There are no rocks worth climbing here."

But other elements not offered by rock climbing - a legal pursuit - add to the fun of building climbing. "You're not supposed to do it," the sophomore said. "It's fun to do it and get away with it."

A first-year who has climbed the Conservatory, Jones Field House and Kettering and also wished to remain anonymous agreed. "It's one of those rebellious things," she said. "If you get caught you know you're in trouble."

Typically, building climbing is done late at night in dark clothes, worn to avoid apprehension. The second junior is an exception to this rule, and said he climbs anywhere in broad daylight. Consequently, his run-ins with Security are more frequent than anyone else who was interviewed. He said he has been spotted by Security and told to get down. While scaling the sides of East Hall, he said, "A security guard came over and yelled at me to get down. He said, `It's 10 minutes 'til Miller time, I don't need this now.'"

Roofs of buildings are listed under trespassing laws in the Rules and Regulations book. But Security is more concerned with making sure students are safe then prosecuting them. "If it was simply the first time, we'd have a discussion," said Interim Director of Security Joe DiChristina. "It's basically a safety issue. But if something continues, it could be moved to Judicial Board." In most instances, the action security has to take is minimal. "Sometimes on a nice day people will be just wandering around on their roofs. I've never been involved with anything that's gotten out of hand," DiChristina said.

According to climbers, the adrenaline rush, sense of accomplishment and challenge that climbing provides also make the activity worthwhile. "The art of climbing is fun because it's a challenge most humans do not choose to undertake," the first junior explained.

The first junior had never rock or building climbed before coming to Oberlin, though he has always been, he said, an avid tree climber. Late the evening of May 2, he demonstrated climbing techniques and the best routes of ascension for some on-campus buildings, though there was one building he refused to reveal how to climb: Mudd. "It's a trade secret," he explained.

The sophomore said climbing Mudd was, in his opinion, the best climb he has done on the Oberlin campus. "It was a lot of fun because we proved it could be done," he said.

The first junior and his friends carefully plan how to climb a particular building before undertaking the project, he said, outlining some of the building climbing etiquette and rules they observe. Before even attempting a climb, "We always think about how to get down," the first junior said.

Climbing in short bursts is better than climbing in long hauls, he explained, citing the Conservatory as an example of one building which can be accessed in levels, depending on how high one wishes to go. If one wishes to mount Robertson's three stories, he or she must employ a technique he called "chimneying," where one pushes outwards with hands or legs and moves upward while bracketed on both sides by part of the building.

But the easiest way to get on top of the Conservatory, the junior demonstrated, is by pulling oneself on top of the ledge over a breezeway, and then pulling oneself on top of another adjacent ledge. From there, to get to the second level, he set up a ladder which happened to be lying propped against a wall. He said that the more buildings you climb, the more you realize that there are a lot of useful items - such as ladders - available and unguarded in odd locations.

Before leaving the roof of the Conservatory, the ladder is returned to where it was found. "Always put things back where you find them," he said.

During a climb, nothing is ever broken or returned to the wrong place, the sophomore said. "We're out there to climb. We're not vandals," he said.

Plus, part of the fun of climbing is getting away with it without anybody knowing, said the first junior. "Putting things back secures that feeling," the first junior said.

But the first junior discourages the use of ladders, stairs and rain gutters if at all possible. "[Using a ladder to climb a building] is kind of like climbing a tree with a ladder," he said.

The sophomore agreed. "There's something aesthetically pleasing about climbing without help." However, sometimes help is necessary. "You have to be a little creative at times," the sophomore said. "You have to make use of your surroundings."

The second junior always climbs without any assistance. While the first junior has climbed to the roof of Wilder by way of a rain gutter, the second junior, unassisted, has made it to the balcony from which the Student Union banners hang.

Some buildings are more challenging than others, especially those which one must climb what the first junior calls "the hard way - over a long fall."

Stairs and ladders lead directly to the roof of Severance, but to get to the roofs of King and Kettering, one must shimmy or pull oneself straight up two to three stories. The first junior advises, while beginning to climb King by pulling himself up to the landings which run along the outside, "Don't look down. There's no reason to."

Annie's Pizza received an unusual order last December, when they were told to deliver a pizza to the Northeast corner of King. The first junior and his friends, who placed the order, informed Annie's, "We're gonna be on top of the building."

One member of the group lowered his backpack to the ground with garden hoses and electrical cord. Because they didn't know how much the pizza cost, they put $20 in the backpack for the delivery man. But, when they started to pull the pizza up to the roof, the knot broke. It was the delivery man who saved the day. "He pulled a whack Boy Scout knot out of his ass," the first junior said.

The pizza cost $9. "We gave him about a 90 percent tip - we figured we could tip him big," said the first junior.

Most adventures are the result of stand-offs and escapes from Security. The first junior recounts lying on his back on the roof of Kettering next to six other people for an hour and a half while five or six members of Security surrounded the building. Though the first junior climbs up Kettering by shimmying up the I-beam, he has, on occasion, helped lower a ladder to friends who had climbed to the second floor of Kettering via the greenhouse.

He said there isn't much to fear from Security. "Security is stupid, slow. They can't climb up after us, so sometimes there's nothing they can do." he said. Most people, he said, usually do not see them when they are climbing, even if they are in a visible and well-lit place like the landings of King.

The first-year agrees that Security doesn't pose much of a theat. "[Climbing buildings] is pretty easy to get away with. We might have ducked down a couple times, but it definitely wasn't difficult."

Those who climb list different attributes as important for good climbers to have. The first junior said it helps to be flexible and strong in the fingers and legs. Finger strength is important when climbing Jones, because one has to pull oneself up the bricks, which have small hand holds.

"You can't be afraid of heights," the first-year said.

But the sophomore cites stupidity as perhaps the most important characteristic. "You have to be dumb enough to believe you won't fall, or that if you do, you won't hurt yourself," he said. He said he has fallen before, but never more than five feet. He said that if you fall while rock climbing, it's because a hold breaks, or a rock falls, but that while climbing buildings it's always pretty clear what can hold you.

The climbers admitted that they are not immune to fear, but said that any small pangs of fear that do strike them do not deter them.

The first junior said that when you're climbing, you're too busy to think about your fear. "I think you're moving too much to think about it. It's kind of an excitement kind of fear … rather than thinking, `oh my god, what's going on?'"

"[Fear] isn't enough to stop me from doing stuff," the first-year said.


Photo:
Looking down at Finney: A view from atop Severence Hall, which is considered one of Oberlin's easiest climbs (photo by Review staff)


Going under: Oberlin's tunnels don't live up to their legends


by Ross Patty

If there were a class about legend and myth at Oberlin College, rumors of a cross-campus tunnel network would definitely make the syllabus. Stories of underground paths that lead from Harkness bowl to the language house complex or radiate outward from Asia House tempt both the adventurous and the bored.

A few of these legendary tunnels do exist. The largest network is connected to Mudd Center. Another, perhaps the most well known among students, is the one under the language house complex of German, Spanish and Third World houses. There are also paths under Lord-Saunders.

However, according to Gene Matthews, Director of Facilities Maintenance, with the exception of a short tunnel that runs from Asia house to Bosworth, none of the other tunnels reach beyond the buildings to which they are attached. The legendary tunnels that some students say span large portions of the campus are merely fable.

"It's not a terribly exciting campus," Matthews said. "There's important stuff down there, but it's not exotic."

According to Matthews, the tunnels lead to a mechanical room under the complex, where water, heating and electricity are routed to the various houses. An expedition into these tunnels also found a dozen or so exit signs and dorm room light covers, along with an occasional aluminum can and cigarette butt. They also contained a large amount of dust. The room allows easy access to the equipment, which Matthews says need fairly regular maintenance.

Besides those mentioned above, several other campus buildings have subterranean sections. According to Matthews, the art building has an excavated area with dirt walls and floor, the Conservatory buildings each have a mechanical room, as does South. Warner concert hall has a space underneath it, and Russia house has a small steam vault which is primarily filled with steam lines, he said.

Curious students will find it difficult to visit any of these locations, because they are all located behind doors that usually remain locked. Matthews did say that he would consider giving students a tour of the tunnels around Mudd if they were interested, preferably if a member of the faculty were involved in organizing it.

A number of students have been in the tunnels under the language complex. Some students who have been into the tunnels underneath the language complex were slightly disappointed with what they found. "I first heard about the tunnels my freshman year. A couple of people were going down under Harkness bowl," said an anonymous male.

"I expected the tunnels to be bigger and better lit. I was expecting them to be connected to other buildings," he said.

An anonymous female also was a bit disappointed. "I expected it to be more mysterious. There were light switches down there. Without the lights it was fun until I missed a drop off and fell down a ladder." She added, "Miniskirts and heels are a rather awkward way to navigate tunnels."

Besides the campus tunnels, Matthews also mentioned two other points of possible interest of which students might not be aware. The first is the basketball court located in the basement of Asia house. The gym is not opened frequently, however.

Another place was the swimming pool in Philips Gym, which has windows below the water level. Observers can stay dry while watching someone swimming in the pool. Originally, this may have been used for either diving practice or SCUBA classes, Matthews said. The room with the windows is also behind locked doors, because the chemicals that are used in the pool, which can be dangerous and lethal in their concentrated forms, are stored there.

But the most frequented tunnels are the ones underneath the program houses, even though many of them lead to nothing more than rooms. "I expected more insects. I had a cave sort of picture, or of a secret basement," said a second anonymous male. Exploring was "kind of fun, kind of depressing. It was depressing to find out it was just a big room. It was more fun until we turned the lights on."

There are two reasons that the tunnels on campus are locked, according to Matthews. The first is student safety. The tunnels are not well lit and the narrow passages are filled with pipes and ductwork. The second reason that the tunnels are closed is to maintain the delicate environmental balance that is needed for some of the buildings. In particular, Mudd, the Conservatory and the art building need to maintain fairly well controlled atmospheres, because large fluctuations in humidity can damage the books, musical instruments and paintings.

The College uses computers to maintain such a constant environment. Some of the sensors and controls to the computers are located in the tunnels around these buildings, and if they were affected, the damage could be costly.


Photo:
Watching their heads: A trio of Obie hides out under the program house complex. (photo by Alex Warnow)


Oberlin

Copyright © 1996, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 124, Number 24; May 10, 1996

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