TIME NOTICE: This article was written by a student in the Journalism Fundamentals class in the 2024-2025 school year and may not reflect the most current information of the date of publication.
Eastern University sophomore Micah Chapman makes his way into his class with a bloody elbow and a stained jacket. He still has a few minutes to spare. With his two-wheeled vehicle in tow, Chapman represents a growing phenomenon on campuses across the nation.
Eastern’s campus, with its many naturally beautiful paths and trails, has always been a haven for pedestrians. Now, the campus is growing in people and in transportation, and a number of these people are choosing to transport themselves on scooters, E-scooters and manual scooters alike. What was once just a path for foot traffic and the occasional turtle, now is a busy trail for scooter riders as well. Campus community members may find themselves feeling a gust of wind and come to find it was actually someone on the two-wheeled vehicle, cruising onto their next class and awakening their inner child. “It’s kinda awesome. I mean, I’m flying by everyone who’s walking, and it’s just fun, too. It’s a lot of fun,” freshman E-scooter rider Jaden Knize said.
Chapman joins those like Knize who have opted to ride instead of walk to classes. “I honestly just didn’t feel like walking anymore,” Chapman said, sitting next to his scooter. “I was just so tired of all the walking, and so I was like, ‘I could scooter, you know?’”
“Sometimes walking can take you 10 minutes to get from Sparrowk to Doane, and I can get there in like five minutes, so it cuts the time,” Chapman explained. “I can sleep in a little bit more before class, too, which is nice.”
Although Chapman rides a manual scooter and Knize rides an electric scooter, both riders echo some of the same shared sentiments. As a lacrosse player at Eastern, Knize says riding a scooter enables him to save his energy for practice. “I have early practices for lacrosse and it can be pretty tiring, just walking all around the place. So, having an electric scooter helps me to get from point A to point B without putting wear and tear on my legs,” he said.
The use of scooters is not only happening on Eastern’s campus. Scooter usage has increased in the last few years across campuses nationwide and has sparked controversy regarding safety.
“I, too, have noticed the increase in scooter usage on campus,” Director of Public Safety, Chief Michael Bicking, said. “We have not had any major incidents, but as I see more popularity, particularly in the scooters, I find that they don’t follow traffic laws and patterns correctly. They can maneuver very quickly, and if you are not aware of your surroundings and you decide to change and maneuver in a different direction, you place yourself in harm or in conflict with a car.”
“E-scooter injuries on college campuses increased nearly 21% from 2021 to 2022,” Chief Bicking said. “I support the use of them, but I support the safe user.”
Senior non-scooter riding student Lily Bertolet has encountered scooter riders on campus. “They really do zoom,” she said, “I’ve seen people bring them into Walton and they’re riding in circles. This is a heavy traffic people place. Put the scooter away.”
“I think if you have a scooter, you may as well use it. But just be mindful,” Bertolet said.
Despite the many bumps in the road and potential for an accident, Chapman zips across campus at lightning speed, embracing carefree fun.
“I went all the way from behind Andrews, down the path, toward Guffin near the bookstore, so I went all the way down there. I got so much speed, but then I had to slow down because of the really small bridge, and I crashed on it! That was the third time I crashed,” Chapman recalled.
The use of scooters on campus has brought a spark of childlike fun and amusement to Eastern’s campus. “I feel content, happy. I’m just like, it’s kind of fun when I get to speed past people. It’s really fun,” Chapman said.