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Skateboards aren’t banned on campus.

But stunts, trick riding, excessive speed, and jumping over steps, benches, rails, walls and fountains are prohibited, according to the UNM Pathfinder. The Pathfinder also prohibits riding within 15 feet of a building.

UNM Student Conduct Officer Rob Burford said that the trick ban prevents skateboarders from damaging University property and protects students.

“It’s up to other students and faculty on campus to report any violations to our office, and then we investigate them,” he said.  
But many students and skateboarders ignore the Pathfinder provisions.

Skateboarders near Simpson Hall on Friday grinded rails and jumped over stairwells. They said it was one of the last places on campus where the UNM had not installed skate guards. They said that skateboarding and long boarding are legitimate forms of transportation.

UNM community member, a skateboarder on campus, Cesar Ornelas said he didn’t know tricks were outlawed under the campus policy.
“It sucks because we like coming here to learn new tricks,” he said.

Skateboaders Daniel Farley said the policy is repressive.
“Skate boarding is a way for people to express themselves, and the skate guards are stopping people from doing that,” he said.

— Luke Holmen