Make way, pedestrians.
According to current college policy, walkways are for skaters too. And, of course, that policy is clear. Or is it?
The current policy regarding skateboarding, not rollerblading, and bicycling states, “Riding is not allowed in college buildings. Careless, negligent, or reckless riding may result in disciplinary action. Additionally, the use of benches, stairs, planters, railings, bridges or any other fixtures on College property for skating or snowboard tricks is strictly prohibited. Offenders may be billed for damages associated with these activities. Ridinging is prohibited on campus roadways. There is a skateboard park in the town of Johnson which students are welcome to use free of charge.”
This regulation, which clearly protects College property and even goes as far as to name a long list of places where a student may not skate, only briefly acknowledges the behavior permitted on the walkways, an area of where skaters and non-skaters are bound to interact.
The 2007-2008 Student Handbook States that while “ careless, negligent, or reckless riding may result in disciplinary action,” there is ambiguity as to what constitutes that sort of behavior, and therein lies the problem.
“The term ‘dangerous’ is not very black and white. It’s somewhat gray,” says Director of Public Safety Michael Palagonia. “What I might perceive as dangerous, you might not perceive as dangerous.”
Palagonia, originally supportive of the college’s policy adopted this fall, feels that its more undefined aspects make it difficult to uphold.
“There’s just too much gray area,” he says. “It’s nothing against people that want to skateboard. It’s just that there are a few people out there that are making it really difficult for other people, and it’s really difficult to enforce it. It’d be nice if everyone would just behave.”
However, according to some, not everyone is, and that throws a wrench into the cogs of a policy that is intended to grant more freedom to students.
But a lack of specificity regarding conduct on campus walkways leaves the policy wide open to interpretation by the people who must abide by it. Now pedestrians and skaters alike are concerned about the issues of safety and respect.
“I think that there’re some skateboarders that are cool about the way they skate on campus, and then there’s some skateboarders that are not cool about it, to put it lightly,” says Ray Kania, 19. A student at JSC, Kania enjoys the freedom granted by the policy and does not want it to be revoked.
“They [ some skateboarders] don’t give the pedestrians the right of way they should, and all the pedestrians are all scared of everyone else who is a good skater. It’s lucky that we even got the privilege, and if I lose it, I’m going to be pissed,” Kania says.
Some pedestrians would like to see skateboarding banished altogether. “I think they hog up the sidewalks. I mean, I’ve seen a lot of people almost get run over, myself included.” says JSC student Matt Spaulding, 20. “I remember my freshman year, there was no skateboarding allowed on campus at all. They said, ‘Go use the skateboard park.’ I wish it was like that again, because the skateboard park is a designated place for them and the sidewalks are a designated place for pedestrians.”
Although he agrees that it is true that some students take advantage of the reformed policy, Matt Black, 21, a skater and a student at JSC, doesn’t blame them for the current enforcement problems.
“There haven’t been guidelines that have been set besides ‘destruction of property.’ But I mean, there’s not really a speed limit for skateboards.”
Although complaints associated with the new policy exist, several students united and their voices were heard.
“I received a petition with several hundred, close to 300, student signatures on it that essentially said that people didn’t feel that skateboarding was a dangerous activity to be permitted on campus,” says Dean of Students David Bergh, the writer of the reformed policy.
“So I met with the students who had kind of been behind the petition drive to talk with them further and frankly, I agreed with their basic premise. I certainly see skateboarding as a legitimate form of exercise as well as transportation. Of all the things that students could be doing with their free time, skateboarding is a positive outlet as far as I’m concerned,” Bergh says.
Justin Epchook, 21 and a student at JSC, has been skateboarding for 13 years and feels that it is “a positive outlet for a lot of people.”
“You know, it’s nice to have,” he says. “ you get that extra Breeze in your face when you’re going around and if you’re late for class, you can just get up and go straight to where you need to go.”
Although he is completely supportive of the current policy he recognizes the issues that have been developed. “Every now and then, I’ve seen people who should’ve slowed down and they didn’t,” says Epchook. “They just make people uncomfortable. That makes me uncomfortable, because it says we might lose this again if we’re abusing our rights.”
There is, he says, no excuse for being inconsiderate. “Yes, You’re on a skateboard. But no, that does not mean that all the sidewalks are yours. You’re sharing these Pathways with people that are walking. They’re going to class just like you,” he says.
Director of Residence Life Michelle Whitmore notes that ideas are still being considered pertaining to the skateboarding policy on campus.
“Something that we have talked about over the last couple of years is taking a portion of one of the parking lots and turning it into a designated area for skateboarders,” she says.
“That is still on the table as a discussion. There’s no current action on it, but I think that it would be a nice middle ground for students that maybe are needing a space that they can do their tricks. Maybe it would free up some of the walkways on campus,” Whitmore says.
In the meantime, ambiguities in the current policy are likely to continue plaguing skateboarders, pedestrians and campus officials alike.