It has been brought to the community’s attention that you would like the mini ramp at NOTB to be closed down. The ramp at NOTB is a place that kids go to skate, because they are not allowed to skate on public streets. When compared to sports such as football, basketball, and soccer, which are the “ideal sports” of our culture, action sports, such a skateboarding are on the line of mainstream society.

If this were a legitimate sports field, you would be hesitant to close it down, because those sports are positively viewed in the community; but because this is a skate park, you want to shut it down. For years, the adults of the nation have looked down upon skateboarders as if they were nothing but trash. The stereotyping of skateboarders has painted them with the image of criminals to the community. Skateboarders have been categorized as the people who fail their classes at school, who constantly violate the law of the community, and social outlaws, with little respect for authority.

Negative stereotypes continue to portray skateboarders, but if you look past these, you would see that there is an art to the sport of skating. It is vital to the youth for designated recreational areas in which they can skate, since they are not allowed on the streets. Not only do skate parks serve as a recreational area, they also serve as a valuable part of the community to the kids. Skate parks are important for kids to have because they keep kids off of private property, and out of the middle of the roads. Also, designated skate areas help the kids have a positive image of the police, because they aren’t constantly being chased out of the spots they choose to skate.

One of the biggest reasons skateboarding is struggling for acceptance is the destruction of public property that tends to go along with street skating. The mini ramp at NOTB has a designated wall for skaters to practice their art, so it is not all over the city streets. Taking away the ramp is taking away a place of passion, dedication, and commitment to these kids. If anything, the back of NOTB has made the community a better place because there aren’t as many kids, or what you call “delinquents”, all over the streets, and there is not as much art tagging on other buildings.

If you order for the ramp to be closed down, corporate mall shops like Vans and Zumiez will over run NOTB. Not only is it unnecessary, it is unjust to order the disassembly of the mini ramp. Instead, the community should come up with a compromise to keep the ramp. The mini ramp may seem like junk and a noisy piece of equipment in your eyes, but to these kids, it’s a place that many feel they can express themselves without the pressure of adults and social conformity. The signatures below are the names of kids who have been positively impacted by the ramp and would do anything to have it stay in place. Don’t take away something that may seem pointless to you, but is cherished in the children’s eyes.