When I was at Calvin College, there was a set of double doors in the hallway between the library and Hieminga Hall. And, since these door were on the inside of the buildings, they were always propped open. Then, one day, the fire marshal decided that the two building needed to be isolated. And so, a mullion was installed along with panic hardware on the two doors. And to add insult to injury, the mullion was added during the summer when the students were gone.

Now, for those of you who do not know about mullions, a mullion is that metal post that stands in the middle between double doors and is what the doors close against. It also holds the brackets that the doors latches on when they are closed.

When school started in the fall, confusion and chaos prevailed as usual. And as usual, this hallway was always full of students traveling between buildings. While the doors were now officially closed most of the time, when an in flux of students would hit that hallway, the constant flow of students would force both doors open for an extended period of time. It was during such events that the students learned an important lesson; watch where you are going.

It seems that on any given day, when the flow was at its peak, some student would walk into that mullion. At best, they would be startled. At worst, they would get a bloody nose. And, judging by the blood spots on the mullion, it would appear that this was a problem for the shorter students.

Presumable, the taller students could see the mullion and avoid it while the shorter student were just lost in the crowd. Regardless, you need to pay attention and watch for the mullions of life or you will end up with a bloody nose.