By Erica Brosnan Special to the chronicle
You may have noticed an influx of hoverboard riders on campus last semester. Whether you rode one yourself or you silently judged as they rode by, Hofstra has taken a stand by banning the faulty rides from campus.
For those unfamiliar with hoverboards, allow me to clarify considering that they do the exact opposite of what their name suggests. “Hoverboards” are self-balancing motorized scooters; in other words they are Segways without handles and why anyone would want one continues to baffle me because they are not the gravity-defying skateboards “Back to the Future” predicted.
I was glad to find out Hofstra banned them from all areas of campus, including the use or storage of them in residence halls. The administration sent out an email to all students and faculty before their arrival on campus, and when I opened it, I immediately sent it to all my friends with an attached message reading, “Hofstra is making my campus experience better every day.”
Why? Because hoverboards are the epitome of laziness. They require no physical effort, unlike a skateboard or bicycle, and they only move about as fast as a brisk walk or jog. Also, for those unfamiliar with New York City law, you cannot ride a bike, skateboard, rollerskate or even use a scooter on public sidewalks because of the danger posed to other pedestrians. Recently, the NYPD released a statement announcing hoverboards would also be included in the ban, so why would they be allowed on the narrow sidewalks around campus?
Let’s not forget the real motive of banning them though; they have a tendency to spontaneously combust. Theories include faulty lithium-ion batteries, but no one knows the true reason behind it.
Additionally, around Christmastime, there was a trend in which people would post videos using the hashtag #HoverboardFail showcasing people falling off hoverboards while in motion. Most people found them funny, but when Nawaf Al-Tuwayan, a 15 year old leaving a shopping center while riding a hoverboard, was thrown off, and instead of having a video of his embarrassing fail posted to the internet, his life was cut short. When his wheel caught in a crack on the sidewalk, he was propelled from the motorized scooter and sent directly into the path of an oncoming bus.
These things may look like fun, don’t get me wrong, but to spend hundreds of dollars on them and then use them as your main form of transportation around campus is not only stupid, it’s perilous. When you are just standing there and having yourself moved around like a slab of meat on a conveyor belt, what are you benefiting from? For the low price of $0.00, you can use the two legs God gave you and hike yourself across the unispan like everyone else, with the added benefit of not looking like a complete tool.