Fordham Public Safety, in coordination with the Office of Student Affairs, placed “No Scooters Allowed” signs placed at the entrances of all of Rose Hill’s academic buildings, in addition to the McGinley Center, Rose Hill Gym and Walsh Library earlier in the fall semester.

These signs are in reference to the motorized scooters many Fordham students use to ride around campus.

In recent years, the sight of students riding around on these scooters has become a staple during a typical day at Rose Hill. It is only recently, however, that administrative efforts at the university have included regulation of the use of these scooters, including restricting their use in buildings across campus.

Robert Fitzer, director of Public Safety for both Fordham’s Rose Hill and Westchester campuses, said these signs placed in academic and communal student spaces are meant to quell grievances regarding the space that the motorized scooters were taking up in building hallways and their use in indoor spaces.

“The signs are in response to complaints received regarding scooters parked in the hallways and entrances of buildings,” said Carroll in an email correspondence regarding the matter. “It has also been reported that students are riding their scooters in hallways, creating a dangerous condition.”

Carroll did not disclose who and where these complaints and reports were coming from.

The scooters can be seen being ridden all around campus. Arnav Bhutada, FCRH ’22, said that there is a lot of mystery surrounding the scooters for the part of the student body that does not ride them.

“I see scooters on campus multiple times a day, usually being used by athletes,” Bhutada said, explaining that many of the riders of these scooters are often wearing Fordham Athletics gear. “I don’t know too much about them, but I would assume they just use them to get around after workouts because they’re sore.”

Carroll additionally expressed his recommendation as to where scooters can be placed on campus in order to avoid inconveniences or potentially hazardous situations for people in these buildings.

“To avoid cluttering entrances around campus, we recommend that riders secure their scooters to the bicycle racks located at the entrances to campus,” he told the Ram.
Despite these efforts from Carroll, Public Safety and the Office of Student Affairs, the motorized scooters can still be found in academic and multipurpose buildings on campus most days.

During the heaviest of lunch rushes during the week, the McGinley Center entrance in front of the Marketplace can still contain up to a dozen scooters parked inside at a time, a handful of weeks after the signs were put up.

Carroll concluded his statements regarding the matter by revealing that Fordham is still looking into this matter involving student scooters.

“The university is currently evaluating the scooter use policy on our campuses,” he said.

For now, Fordham students continue to ride scooters inside the Rose Hill gates and leave them near entrances of campus buildings on a daily basis. It remains unclear where students are purchasing these scooters or why they are such a popular mode of transportation, especially considering their high costs. Online, prices can range from $200 to $1,500.

No signage has been posted discouraging the use of other common methods of transportation used by students, including skateboards and longboards.