Sophomore Gabriel Claypool stands with his bike on campus. Claypool works by using his bicycle to fight Pepperdine’s hills and make journey much easier among his dorm and class. Image by Ella Coates
If you see a blazing blue bike close to campus, it most probably belongs to Gabriel Claypool. The sophomore rides it all over campus, zooming from his dorm at Towers to his courses.
“I use it consistently,” Claypool stated. “I enjoy it. I basically will go from the library and ride it down to the Caf. I purchased it from Walmart for about $100 — finest investment I’ve made considering that shifting to Pepperdine.”
Claypool is not the only scholar investing in particular transportation — as the 12 months progresses, learners report using bikes and scooters more, like Claypool.
Learners with such alternate modes of transportation cited the effectiveness and comfort when heading to course, work or returning to their dorms. Some pupils, however, reported they continue to deal with accessibility challenges when finding about campus.
Very first-calendar year student Christian Ferrari reported he introduced his motorized scooter from household to campus to travel locally.
“I had it at home, and I resolved just to bring it to campus for the reason that why not?” Ferrari explained. “I may well use it though I’m in this article — probably provide it down to Venice Beach or Newport and scoot all-around there.”
Ferrari also reported he enjoys employing his scooter as a faster way to shift amongst the dorms and his courses.
“I use it every single working day, various moments a working day,” Ferrari explained. “I bought to give it some aid up the hills, but it is still greater than walking.”
Josh Nash, a sophomore, prefers to experience his Onewheel — a kind of electrical hoverboard — to journey throughout campus as opposed to walking, when it’s billed.
“I use it, but it’s been useless, and my charger broke,” Nash explained. “But I would use it each day.”
Nash stated he conveniently stores the Onewheel in his dorm.
“I maintain it in my home, and I charge it in my space,” Nash said. “I plug it in the outlet in the wall.”
For parking and storing his bicycle, Claypool claimed he does not have a unique spot.
“For the most element, I just park it on any rail or tree that is close to wherever I’m likely,” Claypool stated. “At evening, I park it on a rail that is close to my dorm. I seldom use the bike racks, given that they are all so significantly absent.”
With a sort of motorized transportation these types of as a scooter or hoverboard, Pepperdine requests that it be registered, in accordance to the Pepperdine Pupil Cars Coverage.
“Any particular person who has a motor motor vehicle on campus, together with bikes and scooters no matter if licensed for road use or not, should register the automobile with the Office of Community Safety and appropriately exhibit the motor vehicle registration permit on the lessen-remaining corner of the windshield,” according to the Scholar Code of Perform.
A Seaside RA confronted Nash the moment all through the to start with week of university about registering his hoverboard, but immediately after that, no other authority has due to the fact warned him, Nash stated.
“An RA informed me, ‘Hey, this is your warning we can’t see those on campus we will choose that absent,’ and from then on, I have ridden on it just about every one day,” Nash said. “I’ve driven previous DPS, RAs — I’ve ridden it often, and no 1 cares.”
Some learners, this kind of as senior Alex Kolm, do not have any extraneous modes of transportation, and Kolm said he has to acquire the shuttles to commute to and from major campus and his housing at Drescher.
“It’s [the shuttle is] an easy way to get all around campus — just really do not go away your dorm with five minutes to course, due to the fact the shuttle is not gonna enable with that,” Kolm stated. “It’s not that efficient.”
The shuttle schedule also hinders Kolm’s mobility on campus, he claimed, with infrequent shuttles and their frequently late arrivals.
“On the weekends, the shuttles are nonexistent it is both there or it is not, and I may as nicely walk then,” Kolm claimed.
Pertaining to accessibility, the shuttles are typically a useful method of transportation even so, major campus as a entire typically has inadequate or hidden accessibility, Claypool reported.
Claypool claimed he grew to become a lot more knowledgeable of accessibility problems at Pepperdine just after bringing his bicycle to campus.
“Riding a bicycle seriously helps make me feel about how challenging it would be to have a wheelchair below,” Claypool stated. “And a good deal of the structures are nearly not accessible at all.”
Soon after playing intramural volleyball and breaking her ankle on equally sides previously this calendar year, senior Kayla Nunn mentioned she works by using a knee scooter to keep stress off her ankle. Mainly because of this, she is unable to use stairs and has discovered various accessibility concerns on campus.
“I really think they [Pepperdine] have to have to be much more keen to hear to their pupils about what they will need if they have a trouble with accessibility,” Nunn said.
Since of her broken ankle, Nunn claimed she has to depend on mates to drive her from her residence off campus to classes but faces troubles with parking and shuttle accessibility.
“When I confronted them [DPS], I required to park in the key lot or just have parking lots much more accessible — and they [DPS] promptly shut down the choice without definitely supplying reasons why or truly performing to get that [accessibility] for me,” Nunn claimed.
Nunn explained she thinks the shuttle procedure can be enhanced as properly.
“They [Pepperdine] failed to see the minor items in concerning that can make the so-termed factors they assume are accessible, inaccessible, due to the fact they don’t have to do it,” Nunn mentioned. “Making the discussion louder about accessibility on campus is vital, because it is been a trouble for a though and almost nothing appears to be to be carried out about it.”
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