Commentary Letter

To Matt,

I am writing to you about an issue I am encountering at the University of Central Florida. My campus is very large, but the buildings are fairly close to one another so I walk to and from class. It seems, however, that I am just about the only one who walks while many others ride skateboards, bikes, and scooters. Well many others do walk, being that there is over fifty-two thousand students here at UCF, but quite a bit of people ride their personal transportation vehicles on and through campus. Because there are so many people on our Orlando campus crowds of people fill the sidewalks, walkways, streets, parking lots, and definitely the center of the university. It feels like I am always bumping into someone else, breathing in their air, and it even feels like I am not moving after a while. But, with the people that ride their bikes, skateboards, long boards, and scooters, things get even worse. Students who ride their two to four wheeled personal vehicles try to squeeze their way through the mobs of people at high speeds. This gets me incredibly angry. The skaters and bikers think, for some strange reason, that they have the right of way over walkers. They roll straight at you and expect you to move out of their way so they can continue on their nice ride. This is not fair to the walkers because we have to go out of our way to try to avoid the maniacs on their toys. Walking on campus should be a relaxing experience, maybe thinking about your previous or upcoming class, enjoying the scenery, talking to your friends, but instead it is a nightmare. I am a nervous wreck while strolling through campus. My head is always on a swivel for people on their wheels, ears concentrated on the sounds of skateboards, and my mind thinking of a different route I can take to class. Sometimes I just walk through the grass because I know only bikers can hit me there. Yes, I said hit me. I have been hit three times this semester, twice by skateboarders and once by a bicyclist. I was injured in one of those, but others are injured daily. Skateboarders have trouble trying to stop quickly, therefore, most of the time they run into someone or something. In one outside hallway UCF has banned the use of skateboards, bikes, and scooters and quite frankly I enjoy walking through that part of the school the best. Because things are so much better in that part of the school I wonder why the school board has not banned them completely from campus. Like I mentioned earlier, the school is tightly compact so walking from building to building is definitely possible. I personally think people ride their vehicles because of sure laziness. I walk everyday and the furthest class I have takes no longer than fifteen minutes to reach and everyone can walk for fifteen minutes. All in all, I think UCF should ban skateboards, long boards, bikes, scooters, and whatever else students ride because it will increase the safety on campus, lower the stress of people, and even help the obesity problem in college. What do you think Matt? Do you have the same problem at the University of Florida? Let me know.

From, Chris