By Andrew Benjamin
Arizona Daily Wildcat
December 9, 1997

Campus skaters need to be banned

Editor:

In regards to the article written on December 4th about skateboarding, I'd like to say that they should be banned from use on this campus. Besides the fact that skateboarders have some of the nastiest attitudes on campus, they also inflict major amounts of damage to university property. If I walked up to a concrete bench on the mall, and started whacking it with a hammer, I would probably be arrested. However if this damage is inflicted with a skateboard, not much happens. Do you begin to see the problem? How many times has one of us been yelled at, flicked off, knocked down, or otherwise hassled by these punks? Have you ever seen a more arrogant segment of students? They think they have divine rights to all of our benches, sidewalks, stairs, and railings. If we get in the way, then it's our fault for not being up with their "Lifestyle." Well, what about my lifestyle? Where do these people get off putting their needs above the rest of ours? Next time one of them is hot-dogging down the sidewalk, maybe I won't move. I do have the right of way. That would be a switch. Them stopping for us. Yeah, and maybe they'll shave those silly goatees too!

It comes down to this. I pay my tuition and have a right to walk down the mall without being hassled. Skateboarders do not have the right to hassle people while abusing university property. If any skateboarder thinks they do have this right, well then all the more reason to lock up their boards, and shave those stupid goatees. Skateboarding needs to be banned now, or none of us are safe on our own campus.

Andrew Benjamin
English Senior