Anyone who has ever visited or attended Bentley University knows that the campus is just stairs. Yup, there’s nothing but stairs. If you are walking to the 921, there are stairs. If you’re walking to the Dana Center, there are stairs. If you’re walking to the library, there are enough stairs for your thighs to start crying.
Real life quotes heard from the Smith stairs:
“We’ve only walked up 10 steps and it feels like it’s been 100”
“I don’t think I can make it to the top, the last 20 steps are the worst”
“Are we almost there????”
“THIS IS THE WORST!!!!!!”
“Step 1 of 5,296”
It’s not uncommon for Bentley students to spend a good portion of their morning brainstorming ways to get to class that don’t involve walking uphill. That internal debate ends when you finally justify that the walk up will be your workout for the day, and you can forgo the gym that night.
These stairs are seen as the worst part of campus for many students, but I’m here today to help you make the most of the stairs! So here are 5 tips to help you make your trip up the stairs a little less painful!
1. Avoid the stairs leading up to Adamian.
The stairs leading up to Adamian are the worst on campus, in my opinion, so I like to take the stairs leading up to the first floor of Smith or the stairs near Falcone. They are a lot more spaced out and a lot easier to walk up! Also, walking up the hill past Falcone North and Miller is another great way to minimize the amount of stairs you have to take, considering there’s only stairs at the very end!
2. Walk with a friend.
I recommend always walking with a friend and never alone when going up the stairs. There’s obviously nothing wrong with walking alone, but when you’re walking with a friend, you are generally distracted because you’re talking and you completely forget that you’re even on the stairs!
3. Don’t take the stairs at all.
If you really want to avoid the stairs, look into taking the loop! It will bring you from lower campus to upper campus in only a matter of minutes, and you can eliminate the stairs entirely. It only takes about 10 minutes to get from the La Cava bus stop to Collins, so it’s definitely worth it. Here’s a link for the schedule!
http://www.bentley.edu/files/2015/09/01/Bentley-CampusLoop-crops.pdf%20revised.pdf
4. Stop complaining about it.
I know this one is hard. Anyone who knows me knows that I constantly complain about taking the stairs, but at the end of the day, we all have to take them, so we might as well just accept it and stop complaining about it. I promise, it makes taking them easier!
5. Go to the gym.
I know this seems like it might not help, but in the Dana Center, there is a machine where you can walk on stairs. This will probably leave you feeling sore at first, but after a while, it’ll make going up the stairs a lot easier because you’re used to it!
We have to take the stairs no matter what, and I don’t think Bentley is planning on installing a monorail system any time soon, so we should all make the most of the stairs and just remember what an amazing feeling it is when you’re finally at the top and don’t have to take the stairs back up for the rest of the day!
Photo sources:
http://cdn1.theodysseyonline.com/files/2015/09/11/6357759456746423013607…
http://www.walkerparking.com/portfolio/bentley-college-library-falcone-apartment-buildings/