Skateboarders in front of the MUB may soon be just a memory. MUB Director MaryAnne Lustgraaf said that small metal pieces called skate stoppers will be attached to the granite benches in the front of the building.

Skate stoppers interrupt the smooth surface of the granite benches, making it so skateboarders can’t use their boards to slide across them. Lustgraaf said that skateboarders are harassing and threatening the safety of those exiting and entering the MUB. “If it’s a safety issue we take it very seriously,” said Lustgraaf. “People shouldn’t need to put up with that type of harassment.”

According to Lustgraaf, university students aren’t usually the ones skateboarding. “UNH students try to be respectful, they try to not do it at high traffic times.” High school and junior-high students are the main problem when they’re brought to campus by their parents, explained Deputy Police Chief Paul Dean. Dean estimates that skateboarding has caused thousands of dollars of damage around campus. According to Lustgraaf, benches waxed by skateboarders are badly damaged, and a 300-degree pressure washer would be needed to remove the wax.

Christopher French, a UNH grad student and self-proclaimed skateboarder, said that he doesn’t believe skateboarding is much of a problem. “I think the damage is to such a small degree it is irrelevant.” French thinks people will use the benches whether they have skateboard wax on them or not. As for the harassment, he says that the younger kids just need to learn when to get out of the way and to be more respectful.