Now to return to Slocum Hall. The vertical hierarchy contained here remains blatantly obvious yet consistently overlooked. This is the spectrum of achievements made subsequently outside these walls, produced by the process practiced within them. Curiously, all one often sees when examining this triage is an elevator and stairs. Our elevator is GRAY. In color yes, but more importantly in affect. Mediocrity, this elevator is the flagship of banality. Always, the elevator manages a slower-than-expected pace and almost always stops. at. every. floor. Our elevator will never impress, while always narrowly getting the job done. Students see the elevator not as an efficient alternative but as a good enough option. Students TAKE the elevator. Those who use the elevator do not strive for speed, efficiency, or output. Students using this elevator look to meet requirements, never push boundaries, and fear failure. They look for a spot in the gray, too light to be considered black and dark enough to differentiate from white. These students try to remove themselves from this vertical spectrum, hiding precisely where they will never be found. As a result, they expect, rely upon, and entrust the elevator to accomplish their goals without any personal input after one press of one button, or well, four hundred thousand dollars. Many choose this option because of premeditated exhaustion and the absence of inspiration both of which that button has proliferated. Around the corner, those in pursuit of self-accomplishment through tenacity and passion decide on the stairs. The stairs present students with integral failure. Without action, success cannot be found. Never deceiving, the stairs are WHITE, always clear in their demands. Success is only created when a student CLIMBS the stairs. These stairs are switchbacks, showing only the floor or half landing ahead. Never promising the entire goal, only the work you must do to get there. They do, however, provide direction. Forcing energy from the student, these stairs do not carry the weight, they carry motivation. Students understand they must carry with them the energy needed to reach their goals. These students understand that they won't be helped, thus requiring students to possess a precognition that applying their personal strength will bring them success. Never relying on a system, it is only perseverance they trust. To overstate myself, these stairs are seldom influenced by the button, they simply allow students the freedom of action. Stairs and elevators are the two known forms of vertical growth in Slocum Hall. To say there is a third choice inside these walls would surprise almost everyone, including the faculty. So let me offer a surprise. This one does not represent itself the same physically to each student, nor does it materialize like that of the stairs or elevator. An option that is never easy and never clear, this is BLACK. Hidden until a student chooses to CREATE it. Instead of a definition, an examination of consistent affects is in order. This is never allowed to be taken or climbed. This never supplies energy and never promises the energy needed. This is never obvious but never invisible. This never fails the user but never promises success. This is never easy. This is, to say, a labyrinth with one exit that is always found. This type isn't for the majority, it is for those who refuse what currently exists. This is for those who require Slocum Hall to give what it fails to offer. That is comprehension, proactivity, determination, strength, creativity, and taste. Now, what is most important here is the recognition that the merit of a goal is never found in achievement, but in process. It is the process that determines your satisfaction after achievement, and thus, determining whether you choose to stop or continue. Given success, earned success, and created success will always be what separates graduates. With that, the least you can do is to say this with me, GET OFF THE FUCKING ELEVATOR.