There’s no doubt you’ve noticed the rise in electric scooters on campus. Last year there were only a few driving around on campus but now, they’re everywhere. Every building you walk by there’s at least two sitting outside waiting for its owner. You walk inside a building, there are more near classrooms. Why is there such an rise in scooters this year on campus? Our campus is relatively small, it takes maybe 10 to 15 minutes to walk from one side of campus to the other. Why is there such a need for scooters? Is it practical or just for fun?
While scooters have become more popular it seems it is mostly the male population on campus who occupy most of these scooters. Very rarely do you see a woman driving an electric scooter through campus but there are the occasional few. What happened to riding bikes or using something that could actually benefit one’s health? What happened to simply walking? Or taking in the sights of our campus and not just zooming by just as our college years do?
College goes by fast, students always say how it feels like just yesterday they were freshmen on this campus. A campus that had a minimal scooter population and students would do the old fashion activity of walking to class. How did we get here?
Practicality
Sean Allen, ’27, explains he uses an electric scooter for practical use and it helps with time management as he was one of the first students with an electric scooter on campus. He likes that other people have taken it into consideration and purchased a scooter as well. It seems he has started the trend on campus.
“My purpose for using an electric scooter is to get from point A to B. It helps my time management because you don’t have to be late to anything, you can get there on time and early. Plus it gets you through any traffic or people being in the way.”
With the practical use of scooters, it’s important to remember they can cause a safety hazard and owners must follow certain policies and rules. Ashley Klco, Director of Campus Safety and Risk Management urges scooter-owners to be aware of the safety hazards and policies in place regarding e-scooter usage.
Safety hazards
“Anyone using a motorized scooter needs to follow the rules of the road, which includes stopping at all stop signs, they do not have the right of way. Help keep everyone safe by having a light if you are using a motorized scooter at night and slow down in congested areas.”
If you are someone who has been affected by e-scooters, and not just that you don’t like them, but you’ve had an actual safety concern, Klco reminds students to report these situations. Being safe and feeling you are safe on campus is of utmost importance.
“Our campus community is vocal when it comes to safety and we encourage reporting! We want all pedestrians, vehicle owners and motorized scooters to be safe on campus.”
Allen also acknowledges scooters should be used for their intended purpose, not to become a safety hazard to other students on campus.
“I don’t like seeing people misusing the purpose of scooters. I think it will be a positive environment if people use it to get to the places they need to get to. But when people get wild with the scooters it can create a hazard on campus.”
Other colleges such as the University of Chicago and Concordia University Chicago have banned the use of e-scooters on campus due to incidents and complaints from students. Here at NCC, scooter owners should be appreciative and remain mindful of the proper ways of usage.
Thinking of purchasing?
With the rise in scooter usage, if Allen could encourage students considering purchasing an e-scooter, he reiterates its practical use as well as encouraging safety for our overall campus.
“Use it to get from point A to B. Don’t use it on campus to speed past people or cause problems, use it the right way.”
Although there are many different opinions regarding e-scooter usage on campus, one thing we can all agree on is safety. Looking from the outside in, scooters owners are misjudged because of other owners misusing them and causing anger on campus. In this cold weather, scooter owners have got the right idea. The morning walk from a freezing cold dorm room to a freezing classroom for an 8 am? Brutal. Maybe scooter owners have the right idea after all?
