The south rear tower originally held a smooth metal spiral fire escape slide tube. From the swing doors at the third-floor entrance, it provided a whooshing, dark, spiral ride to the courtyard below, a vertical drop of 50 feet.

Shirley Paley, who was an administrative assistant in the geography department from 1968-87, is credited with establishing the ritual of initiating each new department chairman by sending him and his predecessor down the slide. The slide has also provided entertainment for many students, who used the slides as a rite of passage, so to speak, after final exams.