Skaters Gonna Skate

Delinquent, rebellious and alternative — the skateboard and its rider have always had a certain image to it and its surrounding culture. On college campuses across America, skateboarding is a popular mode of transport, but here at Penn State? You may find a skater or two cruising down Pollock Road, but why has there never been an official club for it on campus?

Since 1987, skateboarding has been banned on Penn State’s sidewalks and streets, with skaters getting warnings and even fines from student auxiliary officers and other campus authority figures. What makes the skateboard any more obstructive than a bicycle or an electric scooter?

A Bad Reputation

As skateboarding, and particularly street skating, can physically damage public property such as benches, curbs and signage, it can have a negative reputation as being a form of vandalism. Popular skate magazines like Thrasher have also often portrayed the sport as gritty, risky and unruly, while skate videos with millions of views online have perpetuated that image. Associated with alternative subcultures through music and fashion, skateboarding has often been integrated into anti-establishment groups and the “outcasts” of society.

The skater’s so-called “rebellious” image has changed over the years, with skateboarding even debuting as an official Olympic sport as of 2020. On a smaller scale, the skate shop of downtown State College, VHS Skateshop, is often frequented by local and student skaters alike. With no obvious signage seen around campus, and the general acceptance of skateboarding for most other colleges, this can be confusing for skaters new to Penn State.

The hot and cold treatment of skateboarding has also been made more puzzling by the announcement to build High Point Skate Park in 2018. As a publicly funded and State College approved venue, the local government seems to be in favor of the sport.

Despite all this, why does Penn State still insist on denying the skateboard as an activity and a common mode of transport?

The Penn State Way

According to Penn State’s Police & Public Safety Policies, the penalty for skateboarding on PSU property is $25. Despite this, skateboards — both electric and regular — are often used on campus regardless of what the rules say.

Without an official organization or place to belong on campus, skaters at Penn State have been relegated to going on their own, trying to connect with any other skater they see on the street or facing the fate of a $25 fee.

Since the early 2000s, the Daily Collegian has also been writing about Penn State’s skating ban and its utter ineffectiveness, yet the issue still persists.

While no student lobbying effort has changed the school’s policy thus far, the skating scene at Penn State still remains vibrant and active. With a hodgepodge skating “club” formed through word of mouth and the new skate park completion this fall semester, this community of “rule breakers” will continue to skate regardless of what Penn State’s policy says.

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Related

https://www.valleymagazinepsu.com/the-subversive-subcultures-of-alternative-fashion/

https://www.valleymagazinepsu.com/active-campus-bicycle-season/

https://www.valleymagazinepsu.com/speaking-up-about-mental-health-olympic-athlete-addition/