With USC being a flat campus, it is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of a different mode of transportation that isn’t walking. Of course there are the basics like skateboards, bikes, and scooters. There are also RipStiks, rollerblades, and heelys which are more common than you probably think. If you are curious about which is the best to bring to college, keep reading!
Skateboards
Personally, I ride a skateboard. I find them easy to carry around and store. You prop them against a wall in classrooms and put them on the skateboard rack in dining halls. The downside of skateboarding is that you are more prone to accidents. It is a balancing act when you have your backpack, morning coffee and whatever else in your hands. If you want to brave the world of cracked cement and wobbly brick for the sake of not having to lock your bike, I say do it.
Bikes
Bikes are a touchy subject for me. Mostly because they act as if they own the road and will run you over if need be. However, they are very useful if you live further from campus or find yourself coming home late at night. They are quicker than skateboards, but a bigger hassle to store. The USC Village has a storing rack but if you live off campus that is your burden to bear. I just don’t like the process of finding a bike rack, locking it, and repeat every time you have to go somewhere. But you do get to cut people off so there is that.
Scooters/electric scooters
Before I committed to the world of skateboarding I owned an electric scooter. The great part about this is that there is no physical exertion involved. You press a button and zoom off faster than anyone on a bike or skateboard. However, freshmen dorms do not let you store these because the battery could potentially catch fire and burn the building down. Do with that information as you may. Electric scooters also could die or break down on you at any moment and manually pushing one is no small feat. Regular scooters don’t really have a downside except that riding one is weirdly embarrassing for no reason. Similar to how you don’t like to get up in class to blow your nose. There is no inherent reason why it should be embarrassing but it just is.
In summary, do whatever you want. Old fashioned walking is always fun. Don’t worry, you probably won’t be late to class but professors typically don’t care as long as it is only a few minutes. Hope you enjoyed my MTV review of transportation!
