Whether it’s on the way to class or home, Cal State University Long Beach students prefer to travel in style. From skateboards and bicycles to scooters galore, students have a wide range of transportation methods to replace everyday walking.
Unbeknownst to many students, however, skateboards, bicycles, and scooters are prohibited at CSULB, according to Section 10.54 of the Long Beach Municipal Code. The current regulation bans them on all streets, alleys, sidewalks, parking facilities, driveways, paths and campus grounds, as well as requires bicycles and scooters to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians.
Students who decide to use these self propelled modes of transportation will face penalties; if caught, students may have to pay a citation of up to $135, according to the municipal code.
Despite such, CSULB students remain unfazed.
“If they want us to stop, they should put signs up,” said Sophomore Henry Han. Han, an avid skateboard rider, uses his board as a means of getting to class on time. “I don’t think they should be banned, I mean, we pay to go here, we should at least be able to do what we want.”
“It seems like the school’s just trying to find new ways to get more money from us,” Han said. CSULB students pay over $3,000, per semester, just to attend the university. “I just wanna ride my skateboard around my school-that I pay for-without worrying about being fined for it.”
Not all CSULB students share similar opinion, however, and some want to see the campus regulations enforced.
“The school needs to do more, like give out fines or put more signs up or something because it’s annoying…I hate walking to class and a biker cuts me off” said Roxana Romo, who has attended CSULB for three years. “I mean, really? It’s not that hard to walk to class, I do it everyday,” Romo added.
There are some students who do not have the luxury of walking to school, however, like Junior Adam Alonzo. Alonzo does not own a bike or skateboard, and relies solely on the campus shuttle to get to school on time.
“Walking to school is not an option for me…having a car is way too expensive, so I can see why a lot of students use a bike or scooter to get around” Alonzo said.
Alonzo, whose undergrad classes are located at opposite ends of the school campus, does not agree with the current policy. “The school’s huge, its impossible to walk from one class to the other in less than 15 minutes and skateboards, scooters, whatever; they help out a lot.”
CSULB students range in their opinion of what to do about skateboards, scooters, and such, yet the majority continues to operate them. Whether the institution will take action to implement its policy remains to be seen, but for now, however, it seems that most students will continue to trade in their shoes for wheels.