Superpedestrian scooters lined up in one of the many designated parking zones in Eugene, Ore. (Sebastian Flores/Emerald)
While some University of Oregon students were on winter break on Jan. 4, University Housing sent out an email regarding a fire in Earl Hall, and a reminder of UO’s personal electric transportation policies, which have been in place since 2019.
According to Bryson Beck, director of promotions and student recruitment, the fire was a result of an electric skateboard that was left plugged in and not visible for UO Housing to pinpoint.
“We [UO Housing] do safety checks over winter break, but it was something that wasn’t visible from how we do our checks,” Beck said.
In the email, it stated that “due to a recent fire in one of our residence halls involving a personal e-transportation device, we want to remind you of the university’s e-transportation policies and standards.”
The email sent to UO students was “reiterating the policy because we had information that people were not following the policy,” Director for University Housing, Michael Griffel said. “The policy isn’t just this made-up rule.”
The aftermath of the fire was that some students say that they were under the impression that the policies surrounding electric transportation devices were a new implementation.
According to University of Oregon Policy, personal transportation devices shall be parked in designated areas and in accordance with facility-specific policies and procedures. Electric or motorized devices are prohibited from being charged and stored indoors in university owned or controlled property.
However, the UO Student Recreation Center and the John E. Jaqua Academic Center for Student Athletes currently have designated units for e-scooters.
“There currently is no campus-wide indoor enforcement mechanism other than by individual building/facility managers and/or their designees,” UO Director of Transportation Services David Reesor said in an email statement to the Daily Emerald.
Resor continues to state that the existing policy allows for building management to enforce the policy if they chose to do so and that the issue of enforcement is not unique to UO, as other universities are facing similar problems.
Similarly, the Residence Hall Standards and Expectations state that students are prohibited from using, storing and/or charging electric skateboards and other similar equipment on any UO property, including any residence halls.
Some students were under the impression that e-scooters and other electronic devices are completely prohibited on campus.
“A majority of students use [e-] scooters as a means to get around,” UO student Amira Hassen said. “Me personally, I don’t live on campus. I live off campus and the [e-] scooters [are] the best way for me to get to and from classes and into my house… So, instead of a complete ban, there should be boundaries set up.”
Most recently, Hassen experienced a situation where a faculty member at Oregon Hall prohibited the entry of her e-scooter.
“I brought my [e-]scooter in and I was going to sit down and then the lady at the desk told me that I couldn’t bring it in,” Hassen said. “I was just caught off guard because a month before that I had brought it in and I didn’t get any issues.”
According to a sign posted indoors, Oregon Hall does not allow personal transportation devices inside the building.
Similarly, Amelia Brown, a UO student studying business said that she’s seen students walk into class with their electric device and no policy implementation was enforced.
“I haven’t seen anything like that,” Brown said.
According to Griffel, the policies were not administered during the fall term due to a lack of student awareness of them.
“There may not have been as much awareness about it [policy],” Griffel said. “Although the policy has not changed, it’s been there.”
Reesor said that “[UO] Transportation Services doesn’t have the staffing or the ability” to implement the policies.
“It is up to an individual facility managers or building managers to approach somebody if they see them in,” Reesor said.
Like Hassen, many students store their e-transportation device indoors due to concerns of theft.
“We have a huge theft problem,” Hassen said. “That’s the whole reason why people bring it inside in the first place. I have never left my [e-]scooter outside ever.”
Student athletes are also facing a lack of transportation services
Following the announcement of the abrupt end of the Superpedestrian E-Scooter Pilot Program during winter break, UO student athletes are also experiencing transportation issues.
“Since the banning of that [pilot program], I know they’ve [student athletes] had to resort to walking or catching more rides, and [it] has become more difficult to get over there [Autzen Stadium] in a timely manner,” UO football student athlete La’Vaughn Luellen said.
According to Luellen, many athletes used the Superpedestrain e-scooters in order to get around campus and to trainings.
Luellen suggests that UO Transportation and UO Athletics should provide a variety of transportation options for athletes.
“Either coming up with some type of shuttles, or something that can get from over there to over here safely,” Luellen said.
Reesor said that UO Transportation is interested in the possibility of participating in another e-scooter pilot program.
While the university prohibits electric devices indoors unless otherwise stated by building management, it does not prohibit UO students and residents from using electric devices outdoors.
“It’s not illegal to ride any bike on campus or an e-scooter. You can absolutely do that,” Reesor said.
After the Earl Hall fire, residents were obligated to find other accommodations for their devices, due to the policies’ prohibition of the use, store or charge of e-devices in residence halls . UO Housing designated the exterior bike cages as temporary storage of e-transportation devices until June 17.
Reesor said that UO Transportation is focusing on identifying secure locations for storing and charging e-devices.
“We’re working closely with them [campus partners] to identify some secure locations… by cages or bike racks that would allow them to be secured in charge,” Reesor said.
UO Transportation is partnering with UO Housing and other campus partners to provide designated cages where students can store and charge their e-device in the future.
“There’s the safety aspect and then from that travel standpoint, we [UO Transportation] want to make sure that it’s as convenient and usable,” Reesor said.
UO Housing acknowledges the difficulties in regards to transportation that students may be experiencing following the enforcement of the policies.
“For student’s who owned them, I can see that [it] is going to be a challenge especially if they live on campus because they are not allow[ed] to keep them, store them and charge them where they live,” Beck said.
