We’re a group of students at dBS Institute, a music education centre located underneath New Century Hall. A large number of us are skateboarders or skate enthusiasts. Skateboarding is harmless, good fun, good exercise and brings people together. Skateboarding has a long history in punk, alternative, and subversive subcultures, so it is often stigmatised, but it is far from dangerous or bad.

NOMA talks a big game about promoting exercise, but accosts students and threatens us with fines for exercising in the way we want. During the daytime, when there are almost no people at New Century who aren’t other students, risk of collisions is minimal. We believe NOMA is entirely wrong to ban it outright.

dBS students are an integral part of NOMA and play a huge part in shaping its culture. We are students but we are also NOMA’s workers, volunteers, customers, and musicians, helping to keep it running. We deserve to have our voices heard and have a say in how it operates.

“Why not skate elsewhere?”

Manchester Victoria is a busy area with a train station, a shopping centre, cars, tramlines and cobbled streets. There are few safe places to skate where you wouldn’t go flying off your board, get hit by a car, or bump into a million shoppers or commuters.

The area outside New Century is ideal skate terrain: flat, gently sloped ground, with minimal footfall and obstacles. With its open plan, pedestrians can be seen approaching from a good distance and avoided, making it much safer than surrounding areas. This is why skaters naturally gravitate to this area and run into endless issues with NOMA’s vigilant security team.

"Why is skating so important to dBS students?"

Skating is culturally significant in music subcultures and younger demographics, especially among artists and creatives. No two skateboarders are the same. Skateboarding represents freedom, inclusion and innovation. It doesn’t require a gym membership or expensive gear and is a rare sport in that it allows the participant to invent tricks and express their own unique style.

The dBS Institute is entirely underground, with no natural light, fresh air, trees or open space. Most of our work is in windowless rooms, on computers under fluorescent light. Unlike other universities, there is no outdoor space whatsoever for students’ use exclusively. Exercise and outdoor space is vital to student wellbeing and has been proven to have a positive impact on grades. This is why, if NOMA and New Century is to host an education space, it has a duty to allow its students some free use of and control over the outdoor areas.

All we want is a compromise that’s fair for everyone. We propose that having designated skate times would take the pressure off security and keep pedestrians safe, while allowing students the exercise, expression and community they need.

Come on NOMA - let’s work this out!!