Ranney Skatepark, 3201 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing, is one of the few skateparks in Greater Lansing. Kids at the park tell why they love skateboarding, and a sales associate from Modern Skate & Surf, 326 Morgan Lane, in Lansing, talks about the skateboarding trends at MSU.
When interdisciplinary studies in social science senior Peter Croce first arrived at MSU, he was surprised by the limited number of students using skateboards to navigate campus.
“When I was a freshman, I saw maybe ten people skating around campus,” he said. “They were elusive.”
But skateboarding, including the use of longboards, has taken off over the past few years as Croce soon learned after starting the MSU Longboarding Club.
After launching the club as a sophomore, Croce said the club has expanded to include more than 200 members of their Facebook group and often more than 50 skaters at the group’s events.
“What I saw around me was the sport of skateboarding was exploding,” he said.
“I thought instead of having it explode in an unsafe and reckless manner, (the club) would give a face to longboarders and make it safer and more accepted by the mainstream.”
Croce also is a member of Go Green Longboarding, a group created by Lansing native Alex Kwiecinski in 2006.
One of his motivations in creating the group was to provide greater organization for the growing longboarding community in the area, Kwiecinski said.
“There were really just a few of us that knew what we were doing and rode regularly, so I tried to organize us and put some direction to it,” he said.
“Back in the ‘90s, skateboarding didn’t have the greatest reputation, and this was one way to improve it.”
The clubs’ efforts have made a difference.
MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said there haven’t been any big problems with skateboarders this summer, and East Lansing police Sgt. Mike Phillips said the relationship between skateboarders and the police has improved dramatically.
“It hasn’t been that big of an issue to deal with,” Phillips said. “I haven’t seen a skateboarding ticket in a while.”
Croce credits police officers for being more progressive and he offered to work with them to promote greater safety in the area.
“I know lawyers who longboard, teachers who longboard — it’s not just this outcast kid looking to take out all his anger,” he said. “The face of skateboarding is changing, and I think the police officers recognize that.”
However skateboarders haven’t been completely trouble-free.
East Lansing Planning & Community Development Director Tim Dempsey said there is still a concern with people skateboarding in parking structures, which violates city ordinances.
“We have had intermittent issues with skateboarders,” Dempsey said. “It tends to come and go. We’ve always had people comply once they’ve been warned.”
Ultimately, it’s the actions and behavior of each individual skateboarder that will determine how they’re treated, Croce said.
“You get what you put into it,” he said. “If you act like an idiot, then expect to be treated like one.”
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