Moving Mudders

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This week summer intern Charlee ’18, writes about how Mudders get around. Enjoy!

 

One benefit of living on a small campus is that it doesn’t take long to get anywhere. Yet by population, Mudders still use more modes of transportation than any other college in the Claremont Colleges Consortium! Whether it’s to get to class five minutes after waking up (doable, not recommendable…), traverse the 5 Cs (Claremont Colleges) for classes on other campuses, or blow off some steam and de-stress, Mudders utilize a diverse, creative array of wheeled contraptions. Some are common to college campuses (bikes, longboards, skateboards, etc.) but some are unique to Mudd (free-lines, unicycles, motorized-couches!). Find out more in this blog.

 

Bikes

Ubiquitous on any college campus, bikes are also a staple at Mudd. Yet Mudders find ways to put unique spins on their bikes (no pun intended).

This is my wagon; my pride and joy. Brings a tear to my eye every time.

This is my wagon; my pride and joy. Brings a tear to my eye every time.

 

Skateboards

Can engineers, scientists, and mathematicians roll with best? You bet. Clickety-clacking their way through campus, many Mudders use skateboards as their transportation of choice.

 

Totally candid if you couldn’t tell.

Totally candid if you couldn’t tell.

Longboards

Lots of Mudders like to get around using skateboards’ younger cousin: the longboard. Students longboard not just for transport but also as a hobby, which is especially convenient considering how close the hills north of campus are to Mudd. There is a longboarding club on campus and if you are so inclined, you can join them on weekends and sometimes weekdays as they cruise down hills near Mt. Baldy.

longboards

Scooters

Yes Razors are cool in fifth grade, but they’re even cooler in college. Many Mudders scoot across the 5 Cs.

scootscoot

Powered Longboards

Here’s where things start to get quirky. Longboards are great, but self-powered longboards are even better. A few Mudders decided to put their engineering skills to use and made for themselves remote controlled electric-motor propelled longboards. Ben Kunst class of ‘17 is one of these students, and the following is his creation (read: death trap).

poweredlongboard

Unicycles

Some people think using two wheels is too mainstream, so they roll around on unicycles. If you don’t have experience with unicycles but would like to learn, there is a club where you can do that. If you have experience with unicycles, that same club will teach you to juggle or swordfight while unicycling, because why not.

Such unicycle. Much shenanigans. wow

Such unicycle. Much shenanigans. wow

 

Free-lines

For Mudders that want to be lower to the ground than unicycles but still bedazzle and confound pedestrians, free-lines are their transport of choice. Free-lines are two separate wooden or metal platforms with wheels underneath those platforms. The idea is to place your feet on the platforms and wiggle your feet in such a way as to propel yourself forward. It’s kind of like Ripsticking without the stick, but also a bit like magic and witchcraft.

One day, you too could have skills like these. And impeccable calves.

One day, you too could have skills like these. And impeccable calves.

free2

Motorized-couch

Another Mudder decided he wanted to get around with more comfort and style than other folks, so he motorized an armchair.

 

Yes, this hideous monolith moves.

Yes, this hideous monolith moves.


There are also a few Segway users on campus, but they aren’t around for pictures because it’s the summer. Rarer than Segways, but more common than Game of Thrones characters that don’t die, are students that rollerblade around campus. Again, because it’s the summer, I couldn’t find any to pose for a pretty picture. This should give you a sense of the various wheeled contraptions Mudders use to get around. Just know that your 9 am class traffic will be a lot more involved than you might be used to!

*Bonus

I also own these:

heely