An elevator got stuck in the Studebaker West Complex shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday, according to Liz Alberding, a Palmer/Davidson desk staff member.
Students were trapped in the elevator for about 20 minutes before being rescued by firefighters, said freshmen Evan Hauser and Ryan LeVeque.
LeVeque and Hauser were among the 16 students who were trapped, they said.
Hall directors and administrators refused to comment as to how many residents were stuck in the elevator, how long it would take for them to be freed or if the residents had already been rescued.
Students had just evacuated the building for a fire drill, Alberding said.
Following the fire drill, the eighth floor residents and their resident assistant relocated their floor meeting to outside the complex, said Hauser.
Eighteen people were in elevator No. 4 when the elevator began to slowly sink down, LeVeque said.
The doors of the elevator remained open as it lowered, he said, and two of the passengers jumped out onto the first floor.
According to a sign posted near the elevators, there is a 2,500 pound weight limit for each elevator.
The elevator sank from the first floor to the basement, Hauser said. After firefighters pried open the door, Hauser said the occupants exited the elevator and were on the basement level.
Despite the hot, humid atmosphere of the elevator, LeVeque said spirits were kept high by the antics of the occupants.
Cell phones facilitated photographs and streaming music, he said. Hauser also said the elevator occupants jokingly asked if the hall administrators would stick a straw through the doors and provide drinks for the trapped students.
When asked what they had learned about elevator safety, Hauser replied, "The more people, the better!"
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