While current students and alumni think fondly of crisp October afternoons and sunny spring mornings, there is one thing no student will forget about UNA: The steps.

I will never forget the spring semester of my freshman year when I had Earth Science 131 on the top floor of Floyd Hall and History 102 on the top floor of Bibb Graves Hall. I did not trust the elevator in Floyd and there was not an elevator inside Bibb Graves.

Needless to say, I lost the freshman 15 instead of gaining it.

Each time I set foot on the final step, I took a moment to stop and compose myself before walking into class. Huffing and puffing like a dying polar bear is not the way to make a good impression.

In an effort to prove the magnitude of the number of steps, I decided one September afternoon to jog across campus and set foot on every single step on the outside.

I did not count any of the steps inside the buildings — only those exposed to the weather.

According to my calculations, there are 1,978 steps on UNA’s campus.

This number includes all the steps from the new dorms, around Flowers Hall and up to Rogers Hall.

I found the most difficult staircase on campus was at Floyd Hall.

There are no classes in the upper level of Floyd, but the building has long been a part of UNA’s history.

Each winged staircase in Floyd contains 71 steps. If students have a class on the top level of Floyd, they will have walked 142 steps just to get to and from class.

If you do not live on campus or never had a reason to visit the west side of campus, you missed another doozy of a staircase.

There are over 400 steps just on that side of circular road. Most of those steps are attributed to Flowers Hall and Rice and Rivers residence halls.

I have a new-found respect for students who live on campus. I salute you, my friends.

These step struggles are nothing new for UNA students or The Flor-Ala. Student writer Ann Hammond wrote a similar article documenting her mutual feelings about the stairs on campus.