The big eye in the sky

You’re walking through campus. Maybe you’re going to another class or perhaps on your way home to climb back into bed. Suddenly, you hear a sound that has recently become all-too-familiar around campus.

This is the sound of 70mm hard rubber wheels rolling over the cracks of the sidewalk behind you.

It has probably become second nature to step to the side of the path and avoid absorbing the concave end of a 7-layer plywood skateboard into your calf or Achilles tendon. Subconsciously, or maybe even out loud, you’re thinking, “When did campus become overrun by longboards?”

The answer is now. The sport of longboarding has grown enormously in the past year alone, attracting guys, girls and younger and older generations alike. All of these people are looking for a simple thrill. Longboarding has officially been designated the less-expensive extreme sport for the common person, whether they are riding flat road or conquering endless hills and parking garages. It is a great form of campus transportation.

Being a rider myself, I won’t come down too harshly on fellow campus cruisers.

However, to be completely honest, longboarding is becoming a hazard.

Just like I-184 at 5:30 p.m., campus traffic is exceptionally thick during the day and watching someone on a 40-inch longboard barrel though the one-and-a-half foot gap between two pedestrians is a little more than nail biting.

On multiple occasions I have witnessed a surprising number of longboarders harm others and even themselves in an effort to prove their skills on campus.

Whether it’s a straight-on collision or a runaway board carrying its momentum into someone’s lower leg, an unexpected wince of pain is guaranteed in any situation.

Every one of us has been a spectator to these incidents and they are often easy to predict. With the speed chosen by the majority of longboarders at Boise State, wipeouts are a certainty when accounting for the density of pedestrians at any given time of the day.

Now, like I said, I also claim longboarding as a recreational passion myself. Additionally, I am one of those who use it for campus transportation daily. This is true especially those Monday mornings when I’m running late and trying to get to class.

Nothing is better than cruising down the greenbelt waking myself up while racing the clock.

While longboarding provides a thrill and a dose of transportation excitement between classes, pedestrians still have the right-of-way.

Without a change on campus, a ban of the sport could eventually focus in our sights. With the rising amount of boarders on university sidewalks and roads, the number of accidents is growing. For the sake of all longboarders at BSU, a realization must be made.

Putting away the longboard is not an option I’d like to put up on the table. I’m just asking whoever will listen not to blow it for the rest of us.

Simply pick up the board when coming up behind a crowd

of walkers.

If this doesn’t sound reasonable, try the greenbelt and roadways that have comparatively lighter traffic.

Stick to that pavement as much as possible and the collisions with pedestrians will decrease, making campus transportation a less-negative topic of discussion.

Let’s allow the sport to grow, but in a safe way.

BRIAN LUPTAK
Sports Columnist

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