With the rise of more roller-
skating around East Los Angeles
College, the act of skateboarding
and now roller-skating should not
be criminalized.
Countless skaters are told
multiple times to either stop, leave,
or use some form of safety gear by
authoritative figures at ELAC, even
while cruising through the school to
class, which is not a dangerous deed.
Skaters are looked at as
delinquents when all they are doing
is using their skateboard or roller-
skates as a form of transportation.
There are also backhanded comments
that compliment and diminish skaters that are entirely
unneeded and rude.
Telling a skater not to fall because
they may sue ELAC is presumptuous
and diminishing of the skater’s skill
or talent.
While the safety of students
should be the primary concern of
staff at East Los Angeles College,
bringing insignificant things to their
attention at all times should not be
a part of that.
Skating has brought its own
culture to campus and encourages
people who may not have the time
to go to the gym or to be as active as
they would like, to be active while
skating or roller-skating.
The health benefits between both
activities are substantial, such
as
burning 1,000 calories an hour and
producing a cardio workout that
can get your heart rate up and help
manage it.
The skater community also helps
encourage the younger kids at the
nearby park, Belvedere, to continue
with skating.
Skater people, groups, and
communities can be some of the
most supportive people with who
you may interact.
Not every skater is going to
be helpful, but to generalize and
harass all of them about safety
and stereotypical ideas are wrong, it
should not be what East Los Angeles
College, a college that promotes
individuality and creativity stands
for or supports.