Getting a skatepark at PSU would be great for the students that attend the school but also the community of downtown Portland. There are quite a good amount of skateboarders that go to school at PSU and with the empty lot by Shattuck hall, I always run into them. They tend to skate construction cones, broken off pieces of metal, and anything that’s around them. It’s sad that skaters don’t get a proper place to skate on campus. With skateboarding being introduced to the Olympics for the first time this year, the sport will grow because the Olympics is broadcast to about 27 million people worldwide. Organizations like “Skate like a Girl” are helping diversify the sport and encouraging girls to learn to skateboard. With professional skateboarders like Lacey Baker, Lizzie Armanto, Nora Vasconcellos and many more. They are encouraging girls all over the world to learn to skate because it’s not only a boys sport, it’s meant for everyone. Not only would a skatepark be good for skateboarders but it would also be great for rollerskaters, bikers, and people who ride scooters. The park would be a great place for students to hang out and socialize. With PSU being a commuter school, a lot of students don’t see a reason to stay on campus after their classes are done. But if they got a skatepark, they would be encouraged to stay on campus and meet new people and help build a better community for the school. I am currently working with two of my friends, Javier and Bear to get a skate club formed in the near future. With a new skate club, we can teach people how to skate and encourage others to join the club. 

Since there isn’t a skatepark in downtown Portland, skaters have to skate in the streets and find obstacles around town on public and private property. Which is illegal and tends to get skateboarders in trouble because they are vandalizing the property with their skateboards. This could lead to students getting tickets, getting yelled at by security guards and much more. I know a person who got hit one time by a security guard because he was skateboarding down a parking garage and the security guard was aggravated with him so he hit him with a broom. Therefore if there was a park on campus, students wouldn’t have to deal with the trouble that comes along with trying to skateboard around town. Also, it has been proven that when there is a new skatepark built, there tends to be less damage to the surrounding property of that neighborhood. I’ve seen a lot of skateboarders trying to skate on the slanted glass window at the KMC building and just ruining the glass. If there was a skatepark on campus, then skaters wouldn’t have the urge to skateboard on the window because there would be a skatepark for them to skate at. 

Another reason skateboarding would help the students of PSU is that it’s great for mental health and building diverse communities according to a USC study. The reason is is that skaters have to overcome their fears to learn new tricks, which helps build confidence. Also when you skateboard, you tend to meet a lot of different people with different backgrounds and that leads to friendships with people you wouldn’t be friends with otherwise. There are a lot of new queer skateboarders that are coming into the scene of Portland. Professionals like Brian Anderson and Lacey Baker coming out as queer has helped the LGBTQ community have an inspiration to go out and skateboard. With LGBTQ skate groups also making appearances in Portland. 

There aren’t any rules when it comes to skateboarding and it’s an individual learning sport so it’s all about the time you put into it which is a great philosophy for students to learn because that’s a vital aspect to become successful in life and college. Skating also creates a great community because people enjoy the cite of watching someone land difficult tricks which can encourage them to learn to skate themselves. There would also be a lot of potential PSU students that may decide to go to PSU because they have a skatepark on campus. It would increase the economic growth of the city and the school.

Also with a skatepark on campus, the campus would feel much more safe for students because there would always be people around to witness anything suspicious that could happen. If someone were to get attacked or sexually harassed, skateboarders would stand up and help the victim because they usually are in groups and skate throughout the day. So it would help students feel safer walking around campus, especially at dark. My brother is currently in Philosophy 369 in the class “Sex and Love” and there have been a lot of female students and students in general that feel unsafe walking around campus at night due to the fear of potentially getting harassed. There is also evidence to prove that whenever there is a skatepark built, the crime rate in the neighborhood goes down. So with a reduction in crime, the campus would be a much safer place for students and less fear of potential harm.