Electric scooters have become a staple of the 21st century. Every corner is filled with them, and even TV shows such as South Park have adapted them into their shows (S22, E5). However, University Park has had a different view of them since 2009. Last month, SMU sent out a notice reminding students that scooters are not allowed in University Park.

This caused a commotion all over SMU as students believed scooters were not allowed on campus. Memes about scooters were sent around to the student body. They voiced how they really felt about the issue through sarcastic artworks making references to famous movies such as Batman, and The Birds.

(meme from Amit Banerjee)

SMU sophomore Bekah Blackmore uses these scooters almost everyday to get home and was worried when she read the email. She immediately searched on the University Parks website for some more clarifications on the restriction. “I think it’s a little much, but one of the reasons they said was because they have really small sidewalks and that they’re really busy all the time. But when I’m on them they’re not that crowded.”

SMU senior Sydney Saunders, a self-proclaimed scooter advocate, also weighed in on the subject. She took a chance and went into unchartered territory. “I didn’t realize that I was in University Park until I got off the scooter because I’m not memorizing where I’m not supposed to go,” said Saunders. “I stayed there, and it warned me when I locked it. It was like ‘you may incur any impounding fees for this scooter if someone decides to report it’ so I took that risk.”

(meme from Andre Burgos)

Thankfully SMU is not considered to be unchartered territory for the scooters because it is private property. With a quick phone call, you can actually discover that these electric creatures are SMU police approved. Police chief Richard Shafer however did clarify that “The University Park ordinance prohibiting electric scooters applies to the city’s public streets, alleys and sidewalks. Public areas near and on the SMU campus include Hillcrest Avenue, Airline Road, Daniel Avenue, Bush Avenue and SMU Boulevard.” He also wanted to reminds students that “University Park Police (has) the authority to ticket riders on electric scooters in these areas. Riders are subject to a $136 municipal fine.”

So, what are you waiting for SMU? Ride on! (Except if you’re going past Hillcrest, then it’s time to start walking)