Students advertise social initiative with flier: ‘We’ll skate with anyone’

Arts & Entertainment – The Tropolitan

(PHOTO/ Holly Ammons)Seth Key, sophomore marketing major from Birmingham, joins fellow skateboarders on Troy University’s main quad to partake in shared pastime.


Sable Riley
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Lizz Robb
Copy Editor
A flier posted in various places campuswide invites amateur skateboarders to come as they are, as long as they have a board and drive to ride.
“If you have a penny board, nickel board, longboard or even a Rip-Stik and want a good group of friends to ride the streets of Troy with, well then you’re reading the right poster,” reads the opening paragraph of the flier.
James Shipma, a freshman graphic design major from Huntsville, and some friends loosely organized a group of people that share an affinity for skateboarding and meeting new people.
“I kinda find it therapeutic, like, whenever I feel stuck in the dorm, or whenever I feel really bored, or if I have a lot on my mind, it’s nice to just skate around,” Shipma said. “It’s calming to me.”
Shipma said the group started with two fellow Shackelford residents skating a little here and there. He was inspired to invite other people when he noticed other Trojans traveling to class via skateboard.
Initially, he and friends approached people they saw riding. Shipma was inspired to advertise the group based on the notion that he couldn’t possibly eyeball everyone in person, so maybe he could reach more people by strategically placing fliers in more places that he might not necessarily visit regularly.
While the group is centered around a common passion for skateboarding, members say it’s more of a social group unlike other official organizations.
“I’ve met a bunch of new people that are similar to me,” said Jack Marquet, sophomore environmental science major from Birmingham. “It’s a fun way to hang out as opposed ...


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