Be aware. If you’re walking around campus, know where the sidewalks, crosswalks and bike lanes are — and the difference between them. Avoid crossing the Mall between classes if you can. If you can’t, the south side of the Mall is for bikes and the north side is for pedestrians. Stick to your side to avoid getting sideswiped by a bike or pissing off all pedestrians. No matter what your mode of transportation, go through your route to classes before class starts. Know where you can walk without crossing too many roads or bike paths. After you have figured out the way to your buildings, be sure to go to the door of your classroom. Some buildings, like Harvill, have the even and odd numbers divided by wings of the building.

Get from one class to another in under 10 minutes; some teachers will drop you if you’re late the first day. Since it’ll be before school, you should tack on an extra two minutes for traffic, including foot traffic.

If you ride your bike to class, find the nearest bike rack and then find the next closest one in case the first is small and might be difficult to find a spot during a busy school day. You can also rent bikes from the school and lock them with U-locks. For a safe place to lock your bike at school, there are cages in the parking garages that can be rented.

If you’re driving to class, know which roads are closed during school days (Second Street) and which ones are one way (First Street and Second Street). And know where you can park your car on the street if you don’t have a garage pass — the options are limited but available. Don’t try and tailgate out of the parking garages — if you’re caught, it’s around a $400 ticket, and a parking pass is around $500.

Skateboarding and longboarding are permitted on campus but the University of Arizona Police Department has ticketed many students for skateboarding in buildings and parking garages and for performing tricks.

If you don’t believe me check these out:

Police beat:

Jan. 29, 2010

Dramatic reaction to skateboard citation

A UAPD officer was on patrol on University Boulevard and noticed a man doing tricks on his skateboard at the Integrated Learning Center at 1500 E. University Blvd. on Tuesday at 4:45 p.m.

The officer watched him for several minutes and saw him grinding on curbs and benches in the area.

At first, the man did not respond to the officer’s request to stop. He continued riding his skateboard from University Boulevard toward Park Avenue.

At the intersection of University Boulevard and Park Avenue, the officer positioned the patrol car so the man would be forced to ride right in front of him.

The officer motioned for the man to stop again. The man then threw himself off his skateboard and onto the ground.

He became argumentative with the officer and shoved the skateboard within inches of the officer’s face.

While waiting for another officer to arrive, the man sat on the curb and a records check was performed. The check showed that the man had been warned before regarding the UA’s skateboard policy.

The man was issued a parking and transportation citation for violations of prohibited actions.

He then became very agitated and stood up. The officer told him to sit down. The man then threw himself to the ground, face down. He stated that he didn’t want to be slammed on the ground by an officer, so he did it himself.

The man was given a copy of the citation and released.

Dec 4, 2009

UAPD sees something wrong with a little bump and grind

University of Arizona Police Department officers were on patrol on the west side of the Chemistry building on Nov. 24 at 9:10 p.m. when they observed a man on a skateboard performing tricks. According to police, the man was “”grinding”” on a curb as they approached. Officers made contact with the man and he identified himself as a UA student.

They advised him that performing skateboard tricks on campus was against university policy and warned him that future encounters with UAPD could lead to citations and/or impoundment of his skateboard. Officers reported no serious damage to university property as a result of the man’s actions.