There’s nothing better than taking in the natural ambience at Aldrich Park — walking the park’s inner circle on your way to class while enjoying the air buzzing with conversation, laughter and the periodic murmurs of UCI’s wildlife. That is, until you hear the agonizing electric drone of imminent doom — a scooter hurtling 25 mph right towards you from behind.
Equipped with zero regard for your life or concept of the right of way, it whips past within an inch of your existence before you can even fully realize the proximity of your unfortunate demise. These menacing scooters appear without warning and disappear just as quickly. The only trace of their presence may be your hair in disarray, or your faith in humanity left less intact after yet another near-death experience with one of these wicked chariots.
Forget the stress of your upcoming midterm — the most dreadful experience you can anticipate at UCI is the question of whether or not you’ll even survive your walk to a lecture hall. Surviving the scooter epidemic as a pedestrian is a feat that earns incomparable bragging rights. This scooter menagerie was disguised as eco-friendly, time-saving and practical. No one could have predicted the utter chaos its masses would unleash on innocent Ring Road pedestrians.
What began as a modest movement towards a more efficient way of transportation for college students quickly evolved into a campus-wide infestation. Scooters habitually invade our every crosswalk in masses. UCI’s paths, once offering a tranquil walk to class, have become a congested battlefield upon which pedestrians must fight for their sanity and even their physical safety.
Walking on a college campus battling such a plague requires keen awareness and immense patience. As if we are perpetually driving on a busy, lawless freeway, we are forced to check our blind spots, keep our eyes on the road and anticipate unexpected stops from vehicles around us.
Perhaps scooter users feel as if their two-minute rides to class are justified, remaining oblivious or even willingly ignorant of the fact that it comes at an immense cost to innocent people. However, their perceived sense of supremacy is no match for the joys and benefits of a leisure walk.
While we’re so focused on the next rung of the proverbial corporate ladder — especially in an individualistic society like the U.S. — we forget the simplicity of passively moving through life. Walking allows us to reflect, reconnect to our surroundings and notice details in our environment that no scooter scootering along at 25 mph could ever help us retain.
UCI’s many walking paths are perhaps the most underrated aspects of the campus. These walks allow us to reclaim control in a world that pressures us to move faster, bite off more than we can chew and capitalize on every minute. Scooters prove this exact point. Riders cruise by, earbuds in, unconcerned with the world around them as they lock in on the road ahead. In comparison, a walk doesn’t just get us from point A to point B. It invites inspiration and observation from the natural world and increases prospects for a pleasant interaction with the next person who takes the time to offer a smile or compliment your outfit.
The scooter epidemic has made one thing blatantly clear: we desperately need to walk more. If we can walk, we pay nothing for an invaluable reward — the ability to reflect and better well-being.
The next time you trudge along Aldrich Park breaking a sweat, do not envy the next scooter that effortlessly zips by. Instead, embrace the perspiration that beads on your forehead and notice the campus life around you as it unfolds unhurriedly. To slow down in a society that pushes us to move faster is nothing short of rejecting the status quo.
Michaela Okuyama is an Opinion Intern for the Fall 2025 Quarter. She can be reached at okuyamam@uci.edu.
Edited by Casey Mendoza and Joshua Gonzales
