Scooters | Photo by Diana Jaber | The Wright State Guardian
The Student Government Associate (SGA) passed Resolution 21-09 on March 3, endorsing a partnership between Wright State University (WSU) and scooter-sharing company ‘Spin’ that some students believe will be helpful for future commutes around campus.
Residential Senator and upcoming Student Body President Jonathan Ciero, who co-sponsored the resolution, sees potential with the program.
“I know a lot of students who park in Lot 4 take a 15-minute walk from their car to their classroom on the other side of campus in Millet Hall, the CAC or even White Hall,” Ciero said. “Spin scooters can reduce this to just a few minutes.”
The endorsement is not a binding commitment, but if the student body is interested in having Spin scooters on campus, SGA will work to make it a reality.
Traveling in other ways
Biochemistry student Ximena Santin-Abarca does not believe that she will use the scooters if they come to campus, preferring her skateboard and bicycle. However, Santin-Abarca feels that they would be useful for other students.
“I feel like they could benefit others that don’t have a way to get around like me and they could be a fun way to get where you need to go,” Santin-Abarca said.
Nursing major Madison Jones sees herself using the scooters for amusing rides around campus but, due to her commuter status, she does not feel she benefits from them.
“I can see them being useful back in my early days when I had 15 minutes between classes and had to book it from one side of campus to the other,” Jones said.
The nursing major does believe that the service would be viable for those who live in the dorms.
“I used to live on campus myself and I can definitely see it being very helpful to get back to housing,” Jones said. “It’s quite the walk from campus if you don’t live in Hamilton, so the scooters would be great after a long day.”
A convenient method of travel
Psychology student Lindsey Shaffer believes that the scooters would be useful for students who get winded easily. She would use them depending on the distance between her classes and how long it would take to get to them.
“I can’t remember which set of classes it was, but one time, I had five to seven minutes to go down three flights of stairs, bolt completely across campus, and then up another three flights,” Shaffer said. “It was awful. I would probably use them if I really had classes that were far.”
Shaffer puts her shorter college classes back-to-back due to the university’s consistent start and end class times, giving herself 10 minutes to go from building to building at times.
“Sometimes it takes more than 10 minutes to get from one side of campus to the next, especially for somebody with stubby little legs and a heavy backpack,” Shaffer said. “They would be nice for speeding across campus, helping me to get to my classes faster.”
Organizational leadership student Parker Testa feels that his use of the scooters would depend on the weather.
“I use the tunnels when it’s colder outside, but as the weather warms up, I think I would use them,” Testa said. “I enjoy walking across campus but I think the convenience of the scooters would help everyone.”
The scooters are currently in use at the University of Akron, Ohio State University, Ohio University and at least fifteen colleges outside of Ohio.
