Story by: Mollie Collins, Copy Editor
Student Government Association is fighting for the right for MSU students to skateboard on campus.
The bill was presented to the SGA at their meeting on Tuesday by Alpha Phi’s Jennifer Rutledge, sponsoring senator for Kelsey Shaffer’s bill.
Many students at MSU have schedules that take them all over campus. With only 10 minutes to get from one class to the next, it can be difficult to make it there on time.
Shaffer, exercise physiology junior, wants there to be an easier way for students to commute between their daily classes.
“I hate the thought of wasting gas or being late for class because I don’t have enough time to get from one end of campus to another,” said Shaffer.
Shaffer wrote a bill that, if passed, would repeal the anti-skateboarding policy on campus. If it is repealed, students would be allowed to use a skateboard as a mean of transportation on campus.
“I feel it would be really enjoyable, especially in the spring, to just hop on your board to get where you need to go,” she said.
Over 50 students signed her petition to legalize skateboards on campus.
The current anti-skateboarding policy states that students are not allowed to skate on campus whatsoever. If caught riding on campus, the student may be ticketed or have their board confiscated by the campus police.
Shaffer had a personal experience with campus police enforcing the policy.
“I was at Sikes Lake holding my board and talking on the phone,” she said. “One of the campus police came to tell me that I couldn’t have my skateboard. I wasn’t even on it.”
This made Shaffer interested in researching the policy and writing the bill.
There was no documentation found regarding the origin of the anti-skateboarding policy, however, Shaffer believes that it was put in place because of the property damage that skateboards were causing to campus. There is also the concern of public safety and endangering pedestrians.
Shaffer has been long boarding for about a month now and hopes that she and other students will be able to use their boards to commute from class to class.
If the bill is passed and skateboarding is once again allowed on campus, the campus police would use their own discretion to ensure public safety and the protection of campus property.
The SGA voted to pass the bill, which will now be presented to the administrative council at MSU.