If you are anything like me, you are sick of seeing people zooming around on scooters on campus without saying ‘excuse me.’ It has quickly become less of a scooter issue and more of a user issue.
Scooters are currently still banned on campus. Student Affairs sent out an email Dec. 10, 2024, reminding students that electric scooters, also known as Skywalkers, are not permitted on campus grounds.
This is a policy outlined in the ULM Student Handbook, even promising that the University Police Department (UPD) would begin enforcing this policy starting in spring of 2025.
Freshman music major Ara Arcilla spoke on the issue.
“Honestly, the people riding scooters on campus are not very polite,” Arcilla said. “I ‘ve never heard any of them say excuse me. None of them have ever crashed into me, but that’s basic human decency. Sometimes I get offended when they pass me, like they’re trying to show off or something.”
While I have, fortunately, not experienced being run into with a scooter, I was a witness to it happening to someone else. It was a less than pleasant interaction.
Two women were walking and talking on the sidewalk, and a man approaches them from behind on his scooter. Unlike many, he actually rang his bell, and one woman heard and stepped aside, by the other did not. So, instead of going around her, or maybe slowing down, he runs right into her. And in this situation, you would think he might apologize–he yelled at her for being in his way.
While most encounters I have had are not like that, I feel like I am one misstep from being in that woman’s situation. Very often, I will be walking my merry way on the bridge sidewalk when the same person, without fail, will just zoom right past me.
He never rings his bell, never says excuse me, never does anything that would be considered polite. One time I stumbled over my feet and barely missed him as he went by.
A sidewalk is for pedestrians, not people on a vehicle of some sort. With the peak speed of electric scooters being 15-25 mph, and Skywalker Commuting Scooters reaching speeds up to 31 mph, it is extremely unsafe. The speed limit for the bridge is 15 mph, so some people riding their scooters on sidewalks could go faster than the limit for the road.
Junior social work major Delanie Carty touched on the topic.
“While riding a scooter can be an efficient way to get around campus, caution should be used when riding in order to ensure safety,” Carty said.
Scooters can be an efficient way to get around campus, but they are meant for the road. They serve many purposes for people who have disabilities, whether it be permanent or temporary such as a sprained ankle, but capable, able-bodied people need to walk. UPD should not be allowed to pick and choose what policies they actually enforce, especially ones involving the safety of students.
