By Chris Alexander
Arizona Daily Wildcat
November 14, 1997

Skating's not a crime

Editor:

For years skateboarders have been seen on campus, much to the dismay of some, to the delight of others. I have been skating around campus for all of the five and a half years I have been a student here, but I have never recieved a citation. Unfortunately the student in "Police Beat" yesterday (11/10) wasn't so lucky. Which brings up a serious question:

What is the problem with skateboarding?

I can see both sides of the issue; the school cannot be responsible for injuries sustained as a result from skateboarding (though in my nine years of skating I have never seen nor heard tell of any skater suing any institution for any skating-related injuries), nor can the school allow the slow-destruction of its property which is an unfortunate side-effect of skateboarding.

But look at it from the skaters' viewpoint. If we were a group of tennis players and there were no tennis courts, some would get built. If we were a bunch of soccer players and there were no soccer fields, some would get built. The same goes for football fields, baseball diamonds, swimming pools, raquetball courts, tracks, and so on. These are simply facilities which are designed and built for people to practice their chosen sport. What's the difference with skateboarding? None; and since no one cares to build the facilities, we do the only thing we can; we skate on the streets and sidewalks.

True, we have come a long way. When I started skating there was next to nothing here. Now we have Reid Park. That is definitely a nice facility. Unfortunately I can go almost anywhere in Tucson and play tennis, but I can only go to one place to skate.

Not to mention how easily skating facilities can be built. A plot of asphalt, concrete, or blacktop, some wood, some screws and nails, and that's all you need. You don't even have to hire laborers, since any skater worth his mettle will have enough knowledge to design, plan, and build a skating facility. (I can't even begin to tell you how many ramps and street setups I've worked on in the past.)

Skaters aren't out to be evil and destroy every concrete structure within the city, we just want to be able to practice our sport. Call me crazy, but I don't think that's too much to ask.

Chris Alexander
English BA