Spring Break from Longboarding

Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons


The warm weather is returning to campus and so are the shaggy-haired students on their misshapen skateboards known as longboards. The dangers associated with longboarding are also returning.
Spring break usually means drunken mistakes. Some local students think we should change the meaning this spring and make a break from the public nuisance that is longboarding.
Garrett Graham, a Texas State sophomore, has had issues with longboarders around campus.
“I had a longboarder fly in front of my car on Sessoms a few days ago,” said Graham. “I would’ve hit him if I wouldn’t have been paying close attention. That happens all the time.”
Scott Hockaday has had experiences similar to Graham. He believes that the attitude of the long boarders has a lot to do with it.
“They act like they own the sidewalk. They think crowds should part like the Red Sea for them,” said Hockaday, a Texas State junior.
Longboards can reach speeds of 20-30 mph but they do not have brakes. Riders have to depend on the unsure method of dragging their feet or jumping off to stop their longboard.
Michael McAndrew is a senior at the University of Texas. He thinks that long boards are a danger to pedestrians.
“These long boarders clearly don’t understand that longboarding was invented for hauling ass down a hill and bailing hard. Not for navigating a crowd of thousand in a ten degree slope and nearly breaking a strangers shins once a week because they don’t know how to stop,” said McAndrew, a biology major.
The public disruptions caused by longboards are not specific to our area. Samantha Weaver spent the fall semester at the University of Colorado. The long boarders on campus constantly perturbed her.
“Longboards are more obtrusive than skateboards,” said Weaver. “I saw a ton of people getting knocked down by them on campus. They’re dangerous.”
Dixie State College of Utah has banned long boarding on their campus. School officials say the safety issues and convenience of other students are the main reasons for the rule.