Historically, skaters have been shut out of public areas and judged for their “recklessness” and

“laziness”. In the late twentieth century, the media shifted the public’s perceptions of skateboarding and
skateboarders in a negative light, framing it as hazardous and non-conventional. It is much more a product
of ignorance than that of reality. From it’s dawn, skaters have been immensely misunderstood. Deliberate
obliviousness and unreasonable hatred has blinded people to the culture and lifestyle of skating.
“It’s prejudice, pretty much. It confuses me that people get so angry or disturbed when I skate.
Generally, it’s been middle aged people upset, saying it’s a “disturbance of peace”, but is it really?”
Twenty-four year old Joel Puga claimed as he talked about treatment as a skater with over 10 years of
skating experience
The “skater guy” cliche where skaters tend to perform poorly academically is one where support
should counter this stereotype. Skaters have a determination to practice a trick a thousand times until they
get it right. With endless support like The Garage Board Shop, where the owners let skaters skate a
makeshift skate park as long as they do their homework first, skaters can translate their devotion and
dedication into academics.
While valuing individuality, creativity and freedom, skaters have an unrelenting dedication to
developing the sport and individual performance as a whole. The skate community is a combination of
healthy competition and everlasting support.
“There’s nothing more exhilarating than landing a trick at the skate park after countless failed
attempts and hearing people cheer for you. It really is my happy place,” sophomore Jacob Pérez said.
Where some see troublemakers, many see family and belonging. Skating is a healthy outlet to
fight troubles one might be going through. Whether it’s plain boredom or maybe depression, skating
brings forth the creativity in someone and allows them to indulge in fulfilling their potential. To disregard
an escapism for so many because the grinding of the board on ledges is “unflattering” or the sound of the
boards smacking the ground is a” nuisance” is entirely selfish. Being a spoilsport is no fun.
Treating someone as a pariah for enjoying themselves only tells them that they are unwelcomed.
Skaters who have nowhere else to skate due to a lack of skateparks, turn to the streets, campus, parking
lots, and anywhere they can find. Because they are unwelcomed, skaters are typically fined. Decades later
the treatment is the same, and the result is an ineradicable culture around “illicit” street skating. However,
this is not because skateboarding has an anti-authoritarian attitude, but because skaterboarding has been
unwelcomed practically everywhere so skaters treat any place as a temporary setting before they’re
kicked out.
“Really though, if there was half the effort in placing skate stoppers that there is in minding their
business and letting us live, I don’t really think the negative notion around skateboarding would exist. I
mean, skate culture is all around us,” junior skater Alex Pacheco said.
It’s true; skateboard culture has sparked numerous popular culture trends: from the way they talk
to the way they dress, the movies they watch, and the music they listen to, skateboarding influences us
more than we know. The current spotlight is on skate fashion, as loose-fitting clothes, chunky sneakers,
and modern street style have been a staple in the skate community far back in the late twentieth century.
Skate and fashion have always gone hand in hand, and today’s recent style trends are a true testament to
it.
Skating is undeniably controversial, but in the eyes of young people it is also undeniably cool. In
some sense, skateboarding is the great equalizer, encouraging connection across people and groups no
matter their differences.