On May 14, The Dartmouth ran a comic titled "Sleazy the Wonder Squirrel Show." Chris Miller '97 evidently though it would be funny to get a few pokes in at Hanover's skateboarders. The comic showed skaters being "led out of town," and knocked out with "humane tranquilizer guns." A lot of the campus probably found this amusing. A few Dartmouth students did not. Despite appearances, not all students of this college wear fleece, listen to Phish or go to frats. Some of us prefer baggy pants, the Pharcyde and skateboarding.
When I first arrived at Dartmouth, I went through the same period of disorientation that every freshman encounters. I didn't know many people and felt that I was drowning in a sea of flannel and gortex. One of the first things I did was check out the local skate spots. One of the things I have noticed about skateboarding is that there is a bond between all skaters. Anywhere you go, you can just put down you board and find people like you. A letter printed in last month's issue of Transworld Skateboarding really brought this home to me:
"As a skater, I can go anywhere, find someone on a skateboard and go check out the local spots with them, no questions asked," Paul Cote of Tampa, Florida, said. "All it takes is an open mind and a skateboard, and that's the reason I started skating in the first place."
I met some great kids in those first weeks, people who I would have never met if it hadn't been for skating. It was like having a little piece of home in the middle of New Hampshire. Skateboarding is more than just a hobby, as Miller seems to think it is. For some of us, it is a way of life. There is a mindset that goes with a lot of skateboarding, a quality of thought and attitude that becomes part of you. Tricks don't work if you get too intense, half the move comes from you, the other half from the world around you.
I have noticed a lot of parallels between Tai Chi and skateboarding. Both teach a peace of mind and ease of movement. A good skater learns to let their movements and thoughts flow while they ride. Landing a new trick is more than just a rush, it is the knowledge that you have challenged yourself and succeeded. There is a lot more to skating than just riding a warped plank of wood. "Love is seven layers of hard maple deep" is one of my favorite quotes from the alt.skateboard internet newsgroup.
People don't recognize skaters for what they are, a legitimate section of society with their own needs and rights. We have made a choice to skate, a choice to stick with it and put our hearts into it. It is hard for people who don't skate to understand how much this means to us.
A friend of mine, Rowan Wade, was detained by Safety and Security for skateboarding at Collis. They issued a letter to him that bans him from any and all college property. Even if I were to invite him to come up to my room and hang out for a while, he could be arrested and taken to court. This "letter" is effective for life, meaning that should Wade ever apply to Dartmouth, he would be automatically rejected. After issuing this letter, Safety and Security called the Hanover police to escort him off campus.
Chris, if you know any model train collectors (in his second offending comic, it was said that skaters have no more right to be angry about our treatment than model train enthusiasts) who have been treated like this, let me know. Would the aptly named "Sleazy" comic have been funny if it were Jews being led out of town or humanely tranquilized? I don't think so. Skating means as much to me as religion means to many other people. All Americans are free to choose their lifestyle, and who is anyone to tell me that mine is just a "hobby, one you grow out of with puberty" as Miller did.
