Skateboarding for a Sustainable Campus
Students who skateboard around campus will be happy to see a few new additions to campus thanks to student sustainability fees. Zach Lemons, political science major ‘19, has been involved with BIG since his freshman year when he joined Enactus. Like any good entrepreneur, he identified a problem and went about finding a proper solution.
Zach is extremely involved on campus. He’s an RA for Eagle Village, SOAR Leader, Southern Ambassador and active member of several student organizations. His preferred means of transportation around campus to classes and events is a skateboard. But, what do you do with your board once you get where you’re going? Usually, the solution is to take it in and set it next to your desk or table but try to keep it out of the way from being a tripping hazard, or just take the bus instead.
The solution, skateboard docks. In Spring of 2018, Zach completed a grant application for Student Sustainability Fees. He did research and found SM10X Skateboard Docks and made the case. “GS Skate Docks is intended to encourage an alternate form of transportation by installing skate docks that enable students to safely and securely lock up their boards while they are on campus.” The docks are like bike racks, but for boards.
Zach connected with the University’s Facilities Department to determine the best locations and estimated cost for installations. The locations determined were the RAC, mid-pedestrium around Lakeside, and Dining Commons. These locations were strategically determined to help encourage students to skate instead of taking the bus or driving. Providing skate docks at these locations give students a secure place to lock up their boards while eating, working out or attending classes.
The docks were installed this fall all thanks to student sustainability fees. Next semester, as he’s completing classes and planning for graduation, Zach will also be promoting these new docks and skateboarding on campus.
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