For Ohio University's skaters, a few irritated police are not enough to curb the desire to test their skills on the many ledges, rails and ramps around campus.
OU prohibits skateboarding on almost all areas of campus except for parking lots around the Convocation Center and some lots on South Green, said John Stabler, an OU Police Department sergeant. But skaters such as senior Doug Wattenschaidt, a video production major, rarely allow these rules to stop them from having a good time.
While Wattenschaidt and his friend Zack Burns, an Athens resident, do use the skate park behind the Athens Community Center occasionally, they say the varied terrain of campus is often more appealing. -
there's all these ramps and stuff but there's no G? sense of adventure Wattenschaidt said.
The park, which opened in 2004 and cost $339,000, was constructed through the joint efforts of the city of Athens, OU, the O'Bleness Foundation and the Tony Hawk Foundation. Its includes bowls, pipes, ramps and many other attractions for both novice and advanced skaters.
Despite the skate park's features, Burns said that skating there daily can be repetitive.
You go (to the skate park) and you're going to do the same thing every day he said. Then you walk around (campus) and you see all this stuff and it's just like what you see in the magazines.
Chris Luessen, a sophomore photography major, agreed that a skate park can't replace city or campus streets. It's a whole different experience
he said. That's why I would skate on campus. It's different terrain.
Luessen said he doesn't skate just for recreation '-
I'll skate (to class)
he said, but admitted, I think it's kind of cheesy when I see people skating around and then they walk into class with their skateboard.
Students who skate on restricted areas of campus are warned, though they can be banned from those areas depending on how many times they have been warned in the past, Stabler said. Students can also be referred to University Judiciaries or be criminally charged for trespassing. -
they'd take my board and make my parents come get it
he said.-
almost 13 years I've been with the department
I don't think we've ever made an arrest regarding skateboarding
Spilman said.
