Since the beginning of the Fall 2018 semester at DSU, there has been a huge increase in skateboarders on campus.  One of those boarders is Dillon Brown, a freshman majoring in Commercial Aviation at Delta State. He decided to form the Delta State Skateboard Club in an attempt to, as he puts it, “Bring the skateboarding community together, and to do something positive and fun for the community.”

Dillon has been skating ever since he was five, saying, “I saw an X Games competition on TV and asked for a skateboard for Christmas.”  Skateboarding has always brought him joy and he wanted to share that joy with other people. There were some difficulties at first when he was trying to start the club.  He had to resort to spreading the word of the club by mouth to every person he could find riding a board. But after a large gathering of participants, the club finally began to come off the ground.

Although they haven’t done much yet, the now President of the Skate Club, Dillon Brown wants the club to participate in various activities on campus in order to help spread the word of their cause.  They plan on riding their boards in the Homecoming Parade, and for the future, they plan on scheduling field trips, T-shirts, and events for all skaters and non-skaters to participate in. (No events have been posted as of yet and are still in development.)

Unfortunately, there has been some backlash due to the increase of skaters on campus.  Some drivers see the skaters as a nuisance and have made some complaints to the campus police.  Because of this, skateboarders are now restricted to riding on the roads and can no longer ride on the sidewalks.  Many skaters have taken this with a side of salt, but Dillon has seen this as a way to press forward.

One of the biggest problems the Skate Club has been faced with is that there are not that many places for skaters to hang out and skate.  Due to the backlash of skaters riding around irresponsibly, he decided to try and find a location where skaters could skate in peace. He found an old, unused pool/aquatic center near campus that would be a perfect place for skaters to hang out and ride their boards in peace.

If everything goes according to plan, Dillon claims to help clean out the pool and renovate the unused building by putting in some ramps, couches, TV’s, and create an indoor skate park.  This would both give skaters a place to skate, besides the busy roads, and give newcomers a place to practice and hone their skills. More information will be given at a later date on whether or not this plan will go through.

Dillon has been giving it his all in order to make the Skate Club official.  He always encourages the other skaters to go out and send a positive message and to have fun.  If you have any questions about the Skateboard Club, feel free to contact Dillon Brown at: [email protected].