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We must liberate skateboarding on campus

Skateboarding on campus should not be considered a crime. Skateboards, bicycles and rollerblades are all popular means of transportation on campus. However, if you’re caught skateboarding, you risk getting a citation up to $250 and having your skateboard confiscated.

“Skateboarding is prohibited on all streets, alleys, sidewalks, parking facilities, driveways, paths and grounds of CSULB,” according to the Long Beach Municipal Code, Section 10.54.040 (G) on the campus Web site. Current regulations prohibit bicycles and scooters on sidewalks as well. But the regulations also state that bicycles and scooters are required to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians so as not to block pedestrian traffic.

So, are bicycles and scooters prohibited on campus? The answer is no. The guidelines contradict themselves by stating that these activities are allowed, yet only under certain conditions.

Why can’t the same be true for skateboarding? It seems like there is some sort of discrimination going on. Skateboarders should enjoy the same freedom to cruise the sidewalks as bicyclers, rollerbladers and people riding scooters. I can understand why performing stunts on campus are prohibited – it’s an issue of liability and safety. CSULB is a large campus. When used solely used as a means of transportation, skateboarding from one destination to another should be allowed.

One of the concerns about skateboarding on campus is that it defaces school property. Skateboarders perform a variety of tricks on numerous obstacles on campus which can deface concrete ledges, handrails and other infrastructures. However, performing bicycle and rollerblade stunts can deface property as well.

Biking stunts do far more damage than skateboarding. When bikers jump on obstacles, the grinding pegs on their bikes can badly damage property. Try banging a 3-pound skateboard against a concrete ledge and do the same with a 20-pound metal bike. Which one does more damage? The answer should be obvious.

Despite this fact, skateboarders seem to be receiving all the blame for the destruction of school property. It’s not fair to label one group as being the sole culprits in a situation without proof.

The municipal code also states that skateboarders obstruct the flow of pedestrian traffic because there is no device or mechanism for steering attached to them, which makes it harder to control. This conclusion is completely false. Who wrote this code and what qualification does this person have to justify his or her conclusion?

Trucks act like the axle for a skateboard, allowing skateboards to lean in the direction they want to go.

Despite rules and regulations, skateboarders, bicyclers and rollerbladers continue to ride across campus. I know this because I’m one of them. Skateboarding should be allowed on campus to get from one point to another – used solely for transportation purposes. There’s no reason why skateboarders should be singled out and fined for doing so. Reserve fines for those skateboarders, bicyclers and rollerbladers doing stunts – they are the ones impacting safety and damaging property.

Joshua Lewis is a senior journalism major and has been skateboarding for more than 12 years.

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