Andrew Puente described the experience of riding a longboard in one word: "freedom."
The longboard, a long skateboard that looks like a surfboard on wheels, has grown in popularity on campus in the past few years.
Sean Frost, senior in psychology, is happy more people are riding longboards since his freshman year.
"I love seeing other people riding them around," he said.
Puente, sophomore in biomedical sciences, uses the board mainly for transportation.
"It's just fun to ride around on," he said. "I love to just cruise around campus. I've got a lot of friends who live off campus, so I ride it when I visit them, and it doesn't take long."
"Cruising" is the optimal word--Puente said the boards can reach speeds of 50-60 mph.
So it's no surprise that longboarders have received some attention lately--mainly from one unwanted source: the police.
The website for Travel with Care, the city's and University's initiative for safe transportation, says skateboards are not allowed on campus or on the sidewalks downtown.
This rule is assumed to cover longboards as well.
But safety isn't the issue, the longboarders say.
Frost, who rides his longboard to class every day, said longboards can be safer than skateboards.
"You have more control over the board," Frost said. "But it all comes down to who's driving."
Frost and Puente both started out on skateboards, but gave them up for longboards because of safety issues.
"I got hurt too much when I rode skateboards," Frost said.
Frost said the reason most people get stopped is disorderly conduct.
A friend of his recently received a $301 fine for riding his longboard on campus.
Puente got stopped last week, but got off with a warning.
"Usually, if I see an officer coming, I just get off my board and start walking," Frost said.
For now, longboarding is not officially condoned by the University or city, but not all the attention on the longboarding community is negative.
Max Shoemaker, sophomore in building science, said he loves seeing people riding them on campus.
"I don't know much about them, but I love seeing them fly by people going down hills on campus," Shoemaker said. "They go fast, but it looks like they have everything under control."
Some people see longboarding as a lifestyle, but not Frost.
"I just use it as my main form of transportation," he said. He also said that riding his longboard can cut 10 minutes off his trip to class every day.
For anyone who wants to try their hand at longboarding, Frost and Puente give similar advice.
"Practice away from people," Frost said. "I can't tell you how important that is."
However, Frost warns everyone who wants to get into the activity that it can be embarrassing when you "eat it" on campus.
"One time, I fell down in front of a full Tiger Transit bus, and my friends will probably never let me live that down," he said.
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