Editor totally ready to see boarders eat it

By Nate Adams
Collegian Editor
October 3, 2007

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has noticed it.

The sound of polyurethane rolling against concrete has become the soundtrack for my daily walks from St. Basil Court to the Union. It no longer fazes me to look up the road on South Campus and see two, three, even four students glide past me like specters in the fog. Yes, the skateboard enthusiasts are out once again, rolling all over campus. Anywhere there is a flat surface they will invariably show up, ollieing and kickfliping at will. And with this unseasonably warm October descending upon us, there is no doubt that they will keep on kicking and pushing, at least until fall break.

Let it be known that I have no problem with skateboarders or skateboarding or extreme sports. In fact, I am jealous of those precious few who God deemed fit to gift with the ability to surf the concrete jungle. With my Orwellian girth and the balance of a toddler on percs, I have never been able to manage a skateboard. The two times I tried, I ended slamming my hoofs into the board on the wrong spot and reducing it to a pile of splinters. I have nothing but admiration for the dudes and ladies of La Salle who choose to roll to class with style and reckless edginess.

That being said, I do have one secret desire. Every time I see a skateboarder rolling past, hair waving in the breeze and Mountain Dew in hand, I can think of only one devious, malicious thought.

At the bottom of the road that winds past McCarthy Stadium and into South Campus, there are two automated security arms. These metallic guardians were put in place to keep cars without the proper authority from coming and going around campus, but most of their time is spent providing obstacles for skateboarders heading south. Every time a boarder approaches these perilous sentinels, he/she deftly avoids collision by simply dipping their heads, gliding safely below their unforgiving arms.

I have watched about two dozen different people duck under those metal arms, and I always have the same hope. Once, just once, I want to see someone pick their heads up a little too high. Just once, I want to see someone smack their head into the metal dividers. I want to hear the metallic clang and dull thud of body hitting pavement as their skateboard files willy-nilly off in any direction. I want to see a person flat on their back, dazed and winded as I laugh my head off.

Does this make me a horrible person? It’s very possible. I maintain that many people have seen what I am describing, and have had the same twisted thought. Still, I wish no harm to my fellow students, and would only ask that those who choose to ride be courteous to us less coordinated chumps. That, and make sure to watch your head, because I know I’ll be.

adamsn1@lasalle.edu