Dear student,

First I’d like to commend you on your impressive skateboarding skills as displayed before me as I coincidently stood safely off said path. Although it’s been roughly 40 years since I was your age, I do still fondly recall my own feelings of immortality and confidence in my abilities at your age. But please bear in mind that you are human, and, that the sudden actions of others are simply not in our control. Although not heavy, the foot-traffic on that path was at least moderate,  and one unexpected step out of line-travelled by one of your fellow students, or one loose stone or bit of pavement causing a momentary alteration from your planned route, and at least four times in the space of 40 yards I could have been witness to a scene of, shall we say, hospitalic proportions. Always bear in mind that on campus, as everywhere, we have community members with both visible and invisible challenges. A fellow student with a hearing impairment, gazing down at where they are walking, could easily have not realized you’re coming and unknowingly stepped into your path. The frozen faces of the three co-eds who were walking directly into your path (except for a brilliant maneuver by you) illustrate that at the very least you instilled fear. That’s the polite way to say you were seriously endangering your fellow community members, and even without incident, the UNH Conduct Board would award stiff and immediate penalty of consequence. So what I’d like to do is recruit you, and any other skateboard enthusiasts you may know, to join the UNH President’s Commission on Status of People With Disabilities’ initiative to produce a video on Sidewalk Safety. Who better to produce it than a group of ex-terrorist, now-enlightened peers. Fear not, you zipped by so quickly that all I could identify was the unlogo’d red of the back of your t-shirt and a rough approximation of the cut of your ?? brown or blond ?? hair. So, this is not a snare to get you to subconsciously turn yourself in. This is reminder to our community to respect the needs, feelings and safety of others, and to assemble the cast and production crew for a much-needed video.   Email me back. Just say you read about this, and,   “That kid was crazy and negligent,”  and, “Yes my friends and I are very interested in helping produce a video on sidewalk safety.” 

Thanks,

Lonn M. Sattler

(MMC  USN/USNR –
Retired)  University of New Hampshire Veterans Coordinator & CSPD member Military & Veterans Services